Department of Health and Social Care

General Practitioners: Dental Services

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people attended their GP with a dental issue in each year since 2019.

Andrea Leadsom: Our plan to recover and reform National Health Service dentistry will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients, and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments, or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment. The plan sets out a number of actions which will improve access for patients, by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, addressing underlying issues and setting out the action needed for longer term reform of the system. We do not hold data on how many people attended their general practice with a dental issue.

Dental Services

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS appointments were carried out by dentists in each year since 2019.

Andrea Leadsom: National Health Service dentistry activity is measured by the number of Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) commissioned and delivered, and by the number of courses of treatment delivered. Data on the number of UDAs commissioned and delivered is published each month on the NHS Business Services Authority Open Data Portal, which is available at the following link:https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/english-contractor-monthly-general-dental-activity.The portal currently holds data from April to November 2023, and data for previous years will be published shortly. Data on the number of courses of treatment delivered in 2022/23 and in previous years is published by NHS Digital, and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics

Accident and Emergency Departments: Dental Services

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people attended an A&E department with a dental issue in each year since 2019.

Andrea Leadsom: The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients, and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments, or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment.Our Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services aims to deliver one of the fastest and longest sustained improvements in emergency waiting times. This includes bringing down accident and emergency wait times for 76% of patients being admitted, transferred, or discharged, within four hours by March 2024. Data on how many people attended an accident and emergency department with a dental issue is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-accident--emergency-activity

Dentistry: Registration

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps with the General Dental Council to improve the registration process for dentists who qualified outside the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: To join the General Dental Council’s (GDC) dentists register, a person must hold: a dentistry degree from a recognised United Kingdom dental school; a qualification in dentistry from a European Economic Area country or Switzerland, recognised under the European Union exit standstill arrangements; or a qualification in dentistry obtained before 2001 from one of a limited number of overseas dental schools.For dentists with qualifications gained from anywhere else, they must demonstrate to the GDC that they have the required skills and knowledge for full registration. Currently, this means they are required to pass one of the following examinations before they can apply for registration: the Overseas Registration Exam; or the Licence in Dental Surgery exam, offered by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.Legislative changes which came into force in March 2023 gave the GDC greater flexibility in expanding the registration routes for international applicants, and improving its international registration processes. On 16 February 2024, the Government launched a consultation on further draft legislation that would give the GDC powers to provisionally register overseas-qualified dentists who have not yet met the GDC’s requirements for full registration.

Dentistry: Assessments

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the overseas registration exam for dentists.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has already made legislative changes that give the General Dental Council (GDC) greater flexibility in expanding the registration routes for international applicants, and improving its international registration processes, including how it operates the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). This legislation came into force in March 2023, and new rules for the ORE made by the GDC under these reforms come into effect this month.We welcomed the GDC’s announcements that sittings of the ORE part one from August 2023 to the end of 2024, will have triple the previous capacity, and that an additional sitting of the ORE part two will be provided in 2024. Together, these steps have created more than 1300 additional places across the two ORE parts.

General Practitioners

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP practices used the GP online appointment booking feature to make appointments available (a) online and (b) through the NHS App in 2023.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP appointments were (a) available and (b) booked by patients (i) online and (ii) through the NHS App in 2023.

Andrea Leadsom: General practices (GPs) that have enabled the functionality of booking appointments digitally can offer this through a number of different Online Consultation Systems (OCS), including the NHS App. The Department does not hold data showing which system is used by each GP.Of the 78% of GPs that have an operating OCS, 44.1% enabled their patients to book or cancel appointments within the last 12 months. In 2023, an estimated 2,160,594 GP appointments were booked through the NHS App.

Hospices: Children

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will (a) list the amount of funding allocated to each children's hospice for the 2024-25 financial year and (b) outline her Department's timescale for distributing this funding to each hospice.

Helen Whately: Last year, NHS England confirmed that it will be renewing the funding for Children and Young People’s hospices for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of funding, using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This prevalence-based approach ensures that the funding matches local need.The distribution of the 2024/25 funding to children’s hospices will be via integrated care boards (ICBs), in line with the wider move to a devolved National Health Service, in which ICBs are best placed to meet the health and care needs of their local population. The Department and NHS England hope to be able to provide the greater clarity that the sector is seeking on this important funding stream shortly.

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support research into anti-microbial resistance.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Fraud and Maladministration

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by her Department in each of the last three financial years.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans she has to help improve breast screening uptake.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England has developed an internal national plan in collaboration with key stakeholders, to improve uptake within the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond. This plan will encompass a series of evaluative projects, which are expected to report by April 2024. It is available on the NHS Futures Platform. This is a collaboration platform that empowers everyone working in health and social care to safely connect, share, and learn across boundaries.The Government has invested £10 million of funding for the breast screening programme, which provided 28 new breast screening units and nearly 60 upgrades, to be targeted at areas with the greatest challenges of uptake and coverage. This will provide extra capacity for services to recover from the impact of the pandemic, boost uptake of screening in areas where attendance is low, tackle health disparities, and contribute towards higher early diagnosis rates in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.

Cancer: Young People

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 14706 on Cancer: Young People, whether the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce will study the impact of cancer treatment on young people's (a) cognitive function and (b) ability to learn effectively.

Andrew Stephenson: The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce announced on 6 February 2024 that it will explore how we can improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer. It will draw on expertise from charities, clinicians, academia, and businesses, to set the direction, and define its priorities going forward.It is important to recognise the support built into National Health Service specifications for children’s cancer. These require children’s cancer services to take a multi-agency approach to support, and address, the wider social, educational, psychological, and emotional needs of the child and their family. This includes providing ready access to a wide range of services and professionals, including educational and rehabilitative support. These services are vital in ensuring that children and families have the support needed, to face the difficult challenges cancer brings.

Heart Diseases: Clinical Trials

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she expects a funding decision for the Early Aortic Repair in patients Needing Endovascular/Open Surgery for Type B Aortic Dissection (EARNEST) randomised trial, following a favourable opinion from the National Institute for Health Research in February 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Research commissioned the Early Aortic Repair in patients Needing Endovascular/Open Surgery for Type B Aortic Dissection (EARNEST) trial to test the effectiveness of a surgical treatment for aortic dissection. NHS England received an Excess Treatment Cost funding request for this trial, and at the end of February 2024 they confirmed this funding in principle with the trial team. This will now enable the trial team to continue to progress the set-up phase for the study, and to subsequently begin recruitment.

Osteoporosis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many over 25s have been diagnosed with osteoporosis in the last three years.

Andrew Stephenson: The information is not collected in the format requested. However, the below table shows the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis of osteoporosis, for patients aged 25 years old and over in England, for the years 2020/21 to 2022/23:YearFAEs2020/2132,5522021/2243,3912022/2347,015Source: Hospital Episode Statistics from NHS England.Note: This data provides a proxy to show overall trends.

NHS: Artificial Intelligence

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to attract and retain workers with skills in artificial intelligence into the NHS workforce.

Andrew Stephenson: We provide targeted upskilling and training for clinical staff through the Fellows in Clinical AI programme, and are developing specialised roles within our Digital, Data, and Technology workforce. Furthermore, the AI and Digital Healthcare Technologies Capability framework outlines the necessary capabilities for artificial intelligence (AI) across the National Health Service workforce. We have also set out core foundations to drive AI-related education training in two published reports that focus on understanding and developing the healthcare workforce’s confidence in AI. These include developing fundamentals for the full workforce and advanced training, where it is required. The reports on understanding and developing confidence in AI are available, respectively, at the following links: https://digital-transformation.hee.nhs.uk/binaries/content/assets/digital-transformation/dart-ed/understandingconfidenceinai-may22.pdf https://digital-transformation.hee.nhs.uk/binaries/content/assets/digital-transformation/dart-ed/developingconfidenceinai-oct2022.pdf

Health: Screening

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will take steps to expand the scope of the NHS Health Check to (a) include a wider range of clinical checks for identifying (i) cardiovascular disease (CVD) and (ii) CVD-risk conditions and (b) take place in (A) the community, (B) workplaces and (C) other new settings.

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support earlier identification of cardiovascular disease risk.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department is taking forward a scheme of work to modernise the NHS Health Check programme, and to deliver on recommendations from the 2021 review of the programme. We are currently focused on the development and launch of a digital NHS Health Check, to be launched later this year, and rolled out nationally over the next four years. Following the launch of a digital check, the Department will consider the evidence for, and practicality of, expanding the scope of the NHS Health Check. This will include consideration of introducing a wider range of clinical checks, and considering a younger target age group.Local authorities can design and deliver NHS Health Checks to suit the needs of their local population. This includes who provides the service, and in what settings it is delivered. In some areas, NHS Health Checks are already delivered in community and workplace settings. To build the evidence of the feasibility and impact of this approach, we are investing up to £10 million into a pilot, to deliver cardiovascular disease checks in workplace settings during 2024/25.

Dementia: Health Services

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to provide additional funding to the NHS for (a) diagnostic tools and (b) the workforce to help prepare for the potential arrival of new dementia treatments.

Helen Whately: NHS England has established a dedicated national programme team, which is working in partnership with other national agencies and with local health systems to co-ordinate the preparations for the potential roll out of new treatments.The team at NHS England are assessing the additional scanning, treating and monitoring capacity which would be required if potential new Alzheimer’s treatments are approved and determined to be clinically and cost-effective. This includes securing additional diagnostic capacity including magnetic resonance imaging, lumbar puncture, and positron emission tomography and computed tomography.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of geographical disparities in access to specialist dementia diagnostics on the (a) accuracy and (b) timeliness of diagnoses across regions.

Helen Whately: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network has been commissioned by NHS England to develop a resource to support investigation of the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates. The aim of this work is to provide context for variation and enable targeted investigation and provision of support at a local level, to enhance diagnosis rates. The tool has been released and is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.

Health Services: Homelessness

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the availability of step down support in London for homeless people being discharged from hospital care.

Helen Whately: Local systems are expected to undertake capacity and demand planning exercises for all intermediate care services, including step-down support.We are working to ensure that people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness have a place to stay, and the right care and support to recover their health and wellbeing after leaving hospital. In January 2024 the Department published guidance on discharging people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, to support staff involved in planning safe and supportive discharge of these patients from hospital. Furthermore, between 2020 and 2022, the Department delivered £16 million to 17 local sites, including in London, to pilot Out of Hospital Care Models to people experiencing homelessness following a hospital stay. The Department’s guidance on discharging people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness/discharging-people-at-risk-of-or-experiencing-homelessness

Triamcinolone Hexacetonide

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to review the impact categorisation of the supply shortage of triamcinolone hexacetonide injections (intra-articular steroid).

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the supply of triamcinolone hexacetonide injections (intra-articular steroid) for children and young people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Andrew Stephenson: We are aware of a shortage of triamcinolone hexacetonide 20 milligram/1 millilitre suspension for injection ampoules. Details of this shortage were shared with the National Health Service in June 2022. We are working closely with the sole supplier of this product to expedite resupplies, to make this important product is available again as soon as possible. We regularly review the tier, or impact categorisation, assigned to supply issues, and the tier of a supply issue does not affect the options available for management.We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be. While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise. We work with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages, and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when supply issues arise. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.

Hospitals: Patients

Sir Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish guidance on the rules for communication between hospitals on individual patient care.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England has produced guidance on the rules for communication between hospitals for individual patient care, and it is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/data-and-clinical-record-sharing/

Hospices: Children

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how she plans to distribute funding through the Children's Hospice Grant in the 2024-25 financial year.

Helen Whately: NHS England currently supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. Last year, NHS England confirmed that it will be renewing the funding for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24. This prevalence-based approach ensures funding matches local need.The distribution of the 2024/25 funding to children’s hospices will be via integrated care boards (ICBs), in line with the wider move to a devolved National Health Service, in which ICBs are best placed to meet the health and care needs of their local population.The Department and NHS England hope to be able to provide the greater clarity that the sector is seeking on this important funding stream to children’s hospices, in the coming weeks.

Palliative Care: Children

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with integrated care boards on estimates they have made of how many children are accessing palliative care in their areas.

Helen Whately: While there is no explicit requirement for integrated care boards (ICBs) to identify how many children and young people specifically access palliative and end of life care services, the commissioning of palliative care services is the statutory duty of ICBs, which must commission these services in response to the needs of their population.In July 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance for commissioners on palliative and end of life care, setting out the considerations for ICBs to meet their legal duties, and making clear reference to the importance of access to services.NHS England has also published a service specification for children and young people, which provides guidance on undertaking assessments to enable high-quality commissioning of services, that meet both population need and preferences.The Department is in ongoing discussions with NHS England about oversight and accountability of National Health Service palliative and end of life care commissioning, including for children and young people.From April, NHS England will include palliative and end of life care in the list of topics for its regular performance discussions between national and regional leads. These national meetings will provide an additional mechanism for supporting ICBs to continue to improve palliative and end of life care for their local population.

Dentistry: Training

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total number of dental undergraduate training places available to (a) UK and (b) international students was in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2023-24.

Andrea Leadsom: The Office for Students (OfS) publish annual data showing the number of entrants to dental degrees in England each year from 2012 to 2023, split by those paying home fees and those paying other fees, which can be used as a proxy for the numbers of domestic and international students respectively.This data can be found at:https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/funding-for-providers/health-education-funding/medical-and-dental-intakes/The Government controls the number of dental school places that it funds. The OfS sets a maximum number of funded places for dental degrees on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education. Each provider is allocated a number of these places, but may take slightly fewer or more people than their allocated number, for example if exam results are unexpectedly good. For this reason, the target for funded places does not necessarily match actual intakes, though the difference is often not large. Therefore, we have linked to entrant figures in response to this question.The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published on 30 June 2023 sets out an ambition to expand dentistry training places by 40%, so that there are over 1,100 places by 2031/32.

Dentistry: Training

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dental undergraduate training places will be available to students in England in each academic year between 2024-25 and 2031-32.

Andrea Leadsom: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published on 30 June 2023 sets out an ambition to expand dentistry training places by 40% so that there are over 1,100 places by 2031/32. Details of this can be found at the following link on page 130:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-long-term-workforce-plan-2/

Health: Screening

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people (a) have undergone and (b) are eligible to receive an NHS Health Check in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: Data on the number of people eligible for NHS Health Checks and the number of checks delivered each year is published here:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/nhs-health-check-detailed/data#page/4/gid/1938132726/pat/159/par/K02000001/ati/15/are/E92000001/iid/91111/age/219/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/5/cid/4/tbm/1

Ophthalmic Services: Email

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase the uptake of the NHS email system by optometrists.

Andrea Leadsom: NHS England is currently considering how image sharing between community optometry and secondary care could improve access to care and patient outcomes. Secure digital communications will be critical to achieving this goal, which is why NHS England is currently testing and evaluating a number of options, including the use of National Health Service mail.

Fluoride: Drinking Water

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to re-examine the use of fluoridisation of water supplies.

Andrea Leadsom: Under new legislation, we have made it simpler to start new water fluoridation schemes. Our plan to recover and reform dentistry included a long-term ambition to systematically bring water fluoridation to more of the country, as a safe and effective intervention, with a particular focus on the most deprived areas.As a first step, we will consult on expanding existing water fluoridation in the North East. We will begin consultation early this year. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care continues to have a duty to monitor the effects of the water fluoridation schemes every four years, with the next report due in 2026.

Dental Services: Staff

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing dental therapists to carry out some minor dental procedures.

Andrea Leadsom: From August to September 2023, we consulted on changes to the Human Medicines Regulations, which will enable dental therapists and dental hygienists to supply and administer some medicines without the need for a prescription from a dentist, allowing therapists and hygienists to work to their full scope of practice. We will respond shortly to the consultation on the proposals. Furthermore, NHS England’s January 2023 guidance clarified that dental therapists and dental hygienists can open and close National Health Service courses of treatment and provide direct access to NHS care, where that care is within the General Dental Council scope of practice, provided that they are qualified, competent, and indemnified to do so.

Mental Health: Private Rented Housing

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of private renting on mental health.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency’s Adverse Weather and Health Plan, which was last updated in November 2023, sets out evidence on potential impacts that housing conditions such as excess cold, damp, mould, and overheating can have on mental health. This plan is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adverse-weather-and-health-planIn September 2023, the Government published Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home. This guidance sets out the physical and mental health risks of damp and mould, and the steps social and private landlords should take to address these issues. The 2022 Levelling Up white paper set out our ambition to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030, with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas.

Infant Mortality and Miscarriage: Bereavement Counselling

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has plans to increase support for bereaved parents who experience a (a) miscarriage or (b) baby loss.

Maria Caulfield: The Government funded the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity in order to produce and support the roll-out of a National Bereavement Care Pathway, to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the National Health Service. As of 30 January 2024, 126 NHS England trusts, or 98%, have signed up to the pathway.The Government is also continuing to implement recommendations from the Pregnancy Loss Review published in July 2023. These focus on improving the care and support that women and families receive when experiencing a pre-24-week gestation baby loss.On 22 February 2024, we launched Baby Loss Certificates so that parents can obtain a certificate to recognise the loss of a baby before 24 weeks. As of 4 March 2024, over 37,000 certificates have been issued. This delivers on priorities set out in the Women’s Health Strategy for England, and on recommendations from the Pregnancy Loss Review.

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress she has made on delivering the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024.

Maria Caulfield: A cross-Government, United Kingdom-wide delivery board monitors and oversees progress in delivering the National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance (NAP AMR) for 2019 to 2024. The majority of the commitments in the NAP AMR have been assessed as either completed, or as on track for delivery.Progress against the measurable ambitions in the NAP AMR is collated by the UK Health Security Agency, and reported to the delivery board. Significant progress has been made in further reducing antibiotic use in food producing animals, by 59% since 2014, and in humans, with an 8.8% reduction in overall antibiotic usage from 2014 to 2022. Progress has been slower in other areas, such as reducing the incidence of specific drug-resistant infections, due to the diverse nature of the underlying causes of these infections. Other key achievements from the NAP AMR programme over the past five years include:- Piloting innovative ways of evaluating and paying for antibiotics on the National Health Service;- Securing antimicrobial resistance commitments on several ministerial tracks during the UK G7 presidency in 2021; and- £19.2 million investment into One Health Surveillance through the Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and Environment Programme.The Department has commissioned the Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit (PIRU) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to conduct an evaluation of the 2019 to 2024 NAP AMR, to inform future policy development and implementation. Findings from the PIRU evaluation will be published following the peer-review process.The forthcoming NAP AMR for 2024 to 2029 is under development, in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders across different sectors, and informed by the findings from the antimicrobial resistance Call for Evidence. This will set us on course for achieving our long-term ambitions, set out in the Government’s 20-year vision to contain, control, and mitigate antimicrobial resistance by 2040.

Maternity Disparities Taskforce

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the maternity disparities taskforce (a) last met and (b) is next scheduled to meet.

Maria Caulfield: The Maternity Disparities Taskforce brings experts from across the health system, governmental departments, and the voluntary sector to explore and consider evidence-based interventions to tackle maternal disparities. The taskforce last met on 31 January 2024, and is due to meet again in the coming months in spring.

Members: Correspondence

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Shipley of 21 June 2023.

Maria Caulfield: We have received the hon. Member’s correspondence of 21 June 2023 and will respond shortly.

Disease Control: Animals

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on improving infection prevention and control practices in animals.

Maria Caulfield: The Government takes a One Health approach to infection prevention and control, and antimicrobial resistance, as set out in the UK National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance (NAP AMR) for 2019 to 2024. The UK NAP AMR delivery board is co-chaired by senior officials from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate meet regularly to consider appropriate actions to promote good animal health, welfare, and biosecurity in the animal health sector. This is done in accordance with the Government’s One-Health approach, to mitigating the risk of transmission of zoonotic infections between animals and humans, and to tackle the threat of antimicrobial resistance. A zoonosis is any disease or infection that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans.

Maternity Disparities Taskforce: Membership

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 59 of the Third Report of Session 2022–23 of the Women and Equalities Committee, HC 94, published on 18 April 2023, how many and what proportion of members of the Maternity Disparities Taskforce are from organisations that are run by and for Black women.

Maria Caulfield: The Maternity Disparities Taskforce brings together experts to explore and consider evidence-based interventions, in order to tackle disparities in maternity outcomes and experience. These experts include representatives from across the health system, the Government, and the voluntary sector.Membership includes the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, including the Maternity Consortium, which ensures representation from organisations run by and for women from ethnic minority groups. A full list of its members is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maternity-disparities-taskforce-terms-of-reference/maternity-disparities-taskforce-terms-of-reference#:~:text=Members%20comprise%20of%20representatives%20from,Health%20Improvement%20and%20Disparities%20(OHID)

Infant Mortality: Bereavement Counselling

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of bereavement support provided to fathers following a baby loss.

Maria Caulfield: The Government recognises that partners can also be impacted when their loved ones are suffering from the consequences of the loss of a baby. We previously funded the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity to produce and support the roll-out of a National Bereavement Care Pathway, to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the National Health Service, for parents and their families. On 22 February 2024, we launched Baby Loss Certificates, so either parent can obtain a certificate to recognise the loss of a baby before 24 weeks.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce the waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services in the Tees Esk Wear Mental Health Trust region.

Maria Caulfield: Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year in expanding and transforming National Health Service mental health services by March 2024, compared to 2018/19. As part of this, an extra 345,000 more children and young people will be able to get the NHS-funded mental health support they need.NHS England is working on implementing five new access and waiting time standards for mental health services, including one for children and their families and carers to start receiving community-based mental health care within four weeks of referral.A consultation pilot began in Teesside in October 2023, which has allowed families to be re-directed to appropriate support, and for services to be able to reinvest time back into the backlog of assessments. The trust is currently reviewing the implementation and extension of this pilot into Durham and Darlington.

Surgical Mesh Implants: Compensation

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the compensation scheme for people suffering from the effects of vaginal mesh operations does not cover all those impacted by the use of the same materials in rectopexy procedures.

Maria Caulfield: The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report, and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.While the PSC does not include rectopexy mesh within her proposed definition of directly harmed patients for the purposes of her redress recommendations, we note that the PSC has said in her report that the Government needs to consider how to investigate issues related to harm caused by other uses of mesh going forward. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations, and will respond substantively in due course.

St Peter's Hospital Maldon: Out-patients

Sir John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many outpatient appointments took place at St Peter's Hospital Maldon in each year since 2000.

Andrew Stephenson: The quality of the data is not sufficient to provide a breakdown of outpatient appointments at a hospital-level. However, trust-level data is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-outpatient-activity

Department of Health and Social Care: Advertising

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Andrew Stephenson: Based on the latest figures, the total cost of advertising incurred by the Department for the last three financial years are as follows:- £7,865,577 in 2020/21;- £28,985,080 in 2021/22; and- £14,957,885 in 2022/23.Advertising budgets are set as part of the campaign planning process, and media is booked to meet these budgets.

Atorvastatin and Omeprazole

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase the availability of (a) Atorvastatin and (b) Omeprazole through the NHS.

Andrew Stephenson: We are aware of the supply issues affecting a supplier of atorvastatin tablets. We have worked with alternative suppliers to confirm that their supplies remain available, whilst we continue to work with the affected supplier to ensure that action is taken to resolve the issues they are having as quickly as possible. We are not aware of any supply issues with omeprazole.We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be. While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise. We work with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages, and ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when supply issues arise. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.

Department of Health and Social Care: Domestic Visits

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many domestic overnight visits Ministers within their Department have taken in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost to the public purse was of those visits.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government publishes the cost of overseas ministerial travel, including the travel ticket costs and other costs like accommodation and meals, on the GOV.UK website. However, as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Department of Health and Social Care: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many civil servants in her Department have a criminal conviction.

Andrew Stephenson: The information requested is not held centrally by the Department. The Department undertakes Baseline Personnel Security Standard pre-employment checks for all new joiners. A minimal number of roles also require National Security Vetting clearance prior to joining. In the event of a declared criminal conviction, a risk assessment is completed on a case-by-case basis.

Hospices: Standards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people receive a good standard of hospice care if they reside in an area covered by an integrated care board that provides less than the national average level of funding for hospices.

Helen Whately: Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people, and their families, at end of life. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations who receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. Charitable hospices are autonomous organisations that provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.In July 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance for commissioners on palliative and end of life care, setting out the considerations required for integrated care boards (ICBs), in order to meet their legal duties. This can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/palliative-and-end-of-life-care-statutory-guidance-for-integrated-care-boards-icbs/NHS England has also published service specifications, for both adults and children and young people, which provide guidance on undertaking assessments to enable high-quality commissioning of services that meet both the population need and preferences. These can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/service-specifications-for-palliative-and-end-of-life-care-adults/https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/service-specifications-for-palliative-and-end-of-life-care-children-and-young-people-cyp/The Department is in ongoing discussions with NHS England about the oversight and accountability of NHS palliative and end of life care commissioning. We remain committed to improving patient access to, and quality of, palliative and end of life care, and are working with NHS England to reduce disparities in the standard of palliative and end of life care across the country.From April 2024, NHS England will include palliative and end of life care in the list of topics for its regular performance discussions between national and regional leads. These national meetings will provide an additional mechanism for supporting ICBs in continuing to improve palliative and end of life care for their local population. Additionally, NHS England has commissioned the development of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of those in their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.

Queen's Hospital Romford: Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to improve the capacity of the Accident and Emergency department of Queen’s Hospital Romford.

Helen Whately: Our delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services aims to increase capacity and improve accident and emergency wait times, so that 76% of patients are seen within four hours, by March 2024.The management of specific accident and emergency services is a decision for local National Health Service commissioners and providers. In making these decisions they will take into account the needs of their local populations and make the best use of available resource to maximise patient outcomes. A surgical assessment unit recently opened at Queen’s Hospital Romford, which should increase capacity and reduce accident and emergency wait times.

Care Workers: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) recruit and (b) retain social care workers.

Helen Whately: The Government is committed to supporting the recruitment and retention of the adult social care workforce, by ensuring that there are opportunities to develop and progress, and that people feel recognised. In January 2024 we launched the care workforce pathway, which will provide for the first time ever, a national career structure for the workforce. This is alongside our new nationally accredited care qualification, subsidised training places for care staff, and social work and social care nursing apprenticeships. The Government also continues to deliver the Made with Care national recruitment campaign, which promotes social care as a career.

Cystic Fibrosis: Health Services

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to improve the (a) diagnosis rate, (b) co-ordination of care and (c) access to specialist (i) care, (ii) treatment and (iii) support for individuals with cystic fibrosis.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England commissions 47 specialised cystic fibrosis centres for adults and children across England, in addition to supporting the optimal monitoring of patients with cystic fibrosis at home, and supporting best practice in remote consultations. Service specifications published by NHS England clearly define the standards of services, care, and outcomes that people can expect from these centres. Service specifications aim to deliver improvements to life expectancy and quality of life for adults and children with cystic fibrosis.Since 2019, thousands of people with cystic fibrosis have been able to benefit from licensed treatments, firstly Orkambi and Symkeviand and then Kaftrio, following its marketing authorisation in 2020. Access to these treatments is provided under the terms of a commercial agreement reached between the manufacturer, Vertex, and NHS England, with the full support of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).The company supplying cystic fibrosis treatments is prepared to proceed to commercial discussions with NHS England to secure access to disease-modifying treatments for future patients at a price that represents value to the National Health Service. Existing patients, and new patients who are started on these treatments while the NICE evaluation is ongoing, will continue to have access to the treatments after the NICE has issued its final recommendations, irrespective of the outcome.Cystic fibrosis is now mainly detected in newborn babies as part of the heel prick test, which is offered to all newborn babies. Otherwise, it is normally diagnosed by a combination of gene sequencing from blood tests and a sweat test, which is performed at specialist centres.

Department for Education

Childcare: Pay

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.8 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, if her Department will publish the metric used in the Spring Budget 2023 to calculate the proposed increase to the hourly rate at which childcare providers are paid to deliver free hours.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.15 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, whether the estimated additional £500 million of funding for childcare support is the same funding included within the funding envelope in Table 4.1 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC 1183.

David Johnston: The Spring Budget announcement confirms how the department will uplift costs in future years. The department will use average earnings growth and National Living Wage to forecast how staff costs are changing for providers and CPI (a general measure of inflation) to forecast how non-staff costs will change.By the 2027/28 financial year, this government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.The estimated £500 million for 2025/26 and 2026/27, represents the additional cost of increasing funding rates, in line with these metrics and based on current forecasts, compared to if funding rates were kept at 2024/25 levels. A portion of this funding is reflected in the totals announced for the new entitlements at Spring Budget 2023 (and in table 4.1 referenced), which applied the same approach to uplifting funding rates as has been confirmed for 2025/26 and 2026/27 this week. Access to table 4.1 can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6419c87d8fa8f547c267efca/Web_accessible_Budget_2023.pdf.

Department for Education: Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled Draft terms of reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what updates her Department has provided on relevant developments in its area of work to that group since 2019.

Damian Hinds: The Government condemns and strives to tackle all forms of discrimination, prejudice, and harassment, and the department is committed to working with other government departments to achieve this. Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 2 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.Every school and further education provider should actively promote the shared values, including mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. The department has published advice on promoting these values and made resources available on challenging anti-Muslim hate on the Educate Against Hate website, which can be accessed here: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/.The department has also published the ‘Preventing and Tackling Bullying’ guidance, which directs schools to organisations who can provide support with tackling bullying related to race, religion and nationality. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.The department is providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations, which includes projects to tackle hate-related bullying on the basis of race and faith.Ministers and departmental officials continue to work closely with Muslim groups, such as Tell MAMA, as the leading national organisation monitoring and supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred. The department is committed to understanding this issue and to actively assess incidents affecting the Muslim community. The department welcomes guidance produced by Universities UK, which focuses on tackling anti-Muslim hatred. Further information on tackling anti-Muslim hatred can be found here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/tackling-islamophobia-and-anti-muslim.

Department for Education: Domestic Visits

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in her Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.

Damian Hinds: The government publishes details of the costs of overseas ministerial travel, including costs of travel and other costs (visas, accommodation and meals) on GOV.UK.But as has been the case under successive administrations, the government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Department for Education: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in her Department have a criminal conviction.

Damian Hinds: The department does not collect or hold information on the criminal convictions of its civil servants.The department does require that, prior to commencing employment, individuals have cleared the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). This includes a check for live convictions and is the minimum level of clearance for all people working across the Civil Service. These checks are also carried out for existing civil servants moving into the department.If checks highlight convictions, the department will consider the appointment if a conviction relates to any of the following: life sentences, arson, sexual offences, hate and terror offences, the department will also consider the specific offence against the nature of the business, i.e., a conviction for fraud may rule you out for a finance role (the department also undertakes an internal fraud database check, which identifies civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned).The department is engaged in the ‘Civil Service Prison Leavers’ scheme but has not yet made any appointments. This scheme ensures that if an individual is a prison leaver, then having a criminal conviction is not a barrier to joining the Civil Service. The department only asks about criminal convictions once a job offer has been made and excepted and the BPSS checks completed.The department expects its civil servants to abide by the Civil Service Code of Conduct and the departmental standards of behaviour. Employees must inform their manager if they are arrested, are charged and released, refused bail, or convicted of any criminal offence. If they fail to do so, the department will take disciplinary action for non-disclosure.

Free Schools

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools were opened in each year from 2011 to 2023.

Damian Hinds: The department publishes information about open free schools, including the date they opened. This information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development.The attached table provides the number of free schools opened each year from 2011 to 2023. This includes primary, secondary, all through and 16-19 age ranges of the following types of free schools: mainstream free schools, alternative provision free schools, special free schools and specialist maths schools. University technical colleges and Studio schools have been listed separately.16584_table_attachment (xlsx, 27.6KB)

Academies

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools were converted to (a) primary converter, (b) primary sponsored, (c) secondary converter and (d) secondary sponsored academies in each year from 2008 to 2023.

Damian Hinds: Between January 2008 and December 2023, 9,345 schools opened as primary converter academies, primary sponsored academies, secondary converter academies and secondary sponsored academies. A breakdown of this information by calendar year is given the following table:  PrimarySecondaryConverterSponsoredConverterSponsored2008   472009   70201025 68682011309572448201242317136676201342429113284201439326468562015380190516220165451486434201762119080472018604162644420194429845252020198592117202125440281620222584422132023272533210 Table 1: Converter and sponsored academies opened between 2008 and 2023.

Academies

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary mainstream, (b) primary alternative provision, (c) secondary mainstream and (d) secondary alternative provision schools were academies on 4 March 2024.

Damian Hinds: As of 4 March 2024, there are 7,223 mainstream primary academies and 12 alternative provision primary academies. There are 2,867 mainstream secondary academies and 151 alternative provision secondary academies.

Department for Education: Whatsapp

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Damian Hinds: The department adheres to the published Cabinet Office guidance on use of non-corporate communication channels, which is incorporated into the department’s IT acceptable use policies. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-corporate-communication-channels-for-government-business/using-non-corporate-communication-channels-eg-whatsapp-private-email-sms-for-government-business-html.

Department for Business and Trade

Shipping: Re-employment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to page 14 of the Government response to the Consultation on the Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement, published on 19th February 2024, whether seafarers will be eligible for the protective award for non-compliance with collective consultation requirements.

Kevin Hollinrake: The rights of seafarers under employment law depend in part on whether they fall within the jurisdiction of the UK (or Great Britain). Ultimately this will be determined by the courts and tribunals.Whether seafarers have the right to collective consultation about proposed redundancies under section 188 and the following sections of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ("the 1992 Act") is likely to depend on whether the establishment where they work has sufficient connection with Great Britain. This position is not affected by government plans to add the protective award to Schedule A2 of the 1992 Act.

Department for Business and Trade: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many civil servants in her Department have a criminal conviction.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: DBT do not centrally hold data on employees with criminal convictions. This information will be captured and considered at application stage by the Government Recruitment Service through the BPSS checks. In line with wider Civil Service guidance, the Department does encourage applications from those with prior convictions via our recruitment campaigns on Civil Service Jobs. The department also supports the Going Forwards into Employment, Prison Leaver scheme which is an exception to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles.

Foreign Companies: Company Investigations

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has received representations on the Insolvency Service’s procedure for investigating (a) criminal and (b) civil offences by UK registered companies owned by overseas entities.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department is making enquires to determine whether such representations in respect of the Insolvency Service's procedures have been received. Any representations will be responded to as is appropriate.

British Business Bank: Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much public money was allocated to the British Business Bank for the (a) 2023-4 and (b) 2024-5 financial years.

Kevin Hollinrake: Public funding for the British Business Bank’s DEL funding, Business As Usual programmes and administration of the Covid-19 loan schemes, for 2023/24 is expected to be up to £735m. The projected figure for 2024/25 is £357m. Any capital gains will be returned to the taxpayer over the course of the investment cycle.

Arms Trade: Israel

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the press release entitled Arms exports to Israel must stop immediately: UN experts, published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 23r February 2024, if she will take steps to cease the transfer of (a) weapons and (b) ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza.

Greg Hands: All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.The Export Control Joint Unit will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria, including where there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.The Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza very closely and will take any action the Government considers appropriate as the situation develops. All extant licences are kept under careful review and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke licences as circumstances require.

Bank Services: Ampthill

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she is taking steps to support the accelerated roll out of the Ampthill post office banking hub.

Kevin Hollinrake: Cash Access UK is responsible for rolling out banking hubs. It usually takes around 12 months for a Banking Hub to be set up by Cash Access UK. Steps include finding a suitable property, negotiating with landlords and signing leases and obtaining any necessary planning approval from the local authority. Ampthill was recommended to receive a Banking Hub by LINK. Cash Access UK has found a suitable location for the Banking Hub in Ampthill and are now working to get the premises ready. It is currently due to open in Q2 this year. Works are due to start on site this month, subject to lease signing.

P&O Ferries: Company Investigations

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what resources the Insolvency Service has committed to its civil investigation of P&O Ferries; and what steps her Department is taking to monitor the investigation.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Insolvency Service’s civil investigation into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries remains ongoing. As such, it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of the investigation.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: WhatsApp

Pat McFadden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Alex Burghart: In common with all other departments in central government, and arms lengths bodies, Cabinet Office applies the published guidance: Using Non-Corporate Communication Channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS, etc.) for Government Business, found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-corporate-communication-channels-for-government-business. This guidance, which was published by Cabinet Office in March 2023, applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers).

Cabinet Office: Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the document entitled Draft terms of reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what updates his Department has provided on relevant developments in its area of work to that group since 2019.

John Glen: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 1 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

Civil Servants: Equality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which external (a) speakers and (b) organisations have spoken in Civil Service diversity, equity, and inclusion training since 2020.

John Glen: In the Autumn Statement last year, the Chancellor set out that the Government is considering introducing a presumption against external EDI spending and increasing ministerial scrutiny of EDI spending whilst streamlining EDI training and HR processes with a view to getting value for the taxpayer. The Civil Service offers limited diversity and inclusion specific training through the cross Civil Service learning offer. The Civil Service work with a range of external suppliers to design and deliver these courses, a full list of which is provided here. Speakers are not part of the training provided in the learning offer. Civil Service Expectations - e-learning courseCollaborating effectively in cross-cultural teams - MindGymCreating an Inclusive Culture - Berkshire Consultancy LtdCreating Inclusive Virtual Teams - Bailey & FrenchCreating Team Inclusivity - Capital Training LtdCultivating your Cultural Intelligence - Berkshire Consultancy LtdDealing with Everyday Racism - Berkshire Consultancy LtdDisability inclusive management - KPMG Specialist FacultyIgnite inclusion - MindGymInclusive leadership - KPMG Specialist FacultyLeading inclusive teams - KPMG Specialist FacultyManaging Inclusion - Korn FerryModern Leadership – skills for managing a diverse workforce - Berkshire Consultancy LtdNeurodiversity in the workplace - Berkshire Consultancy LtdPower of choice - Korn FerryRespect Training - Berkshire Consultancy LtdSexual Harassment - Red SnapperUnderstanding multiple perspectives - Berkshire Consultancy LtdWorking with different cultures – a Managers Toolkit - Berkshire Consultancy Ltd

Civil Servants: Equality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any materials used in Civil Service diversity, equity, and inclusion training make reference to the Black Lives Matter movement.

John Glen: The only cross Civil Service course provided by the Cabinet Office on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is Civil Service Expectations, which does not have any reference to the Black Lives Matters movement.

Civil Servants

John Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants on full-time contracts there were in each year since 2019.

John Glen: National Statistics on the number of full-time and part-time civil servants are published each quarter by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of their Public Sector Employment statistical release. The latest available statistics were published in December 2023 and at Table 8 show the number of full-time civil servants as at 30 September 2023. The next ONS publication is scheduled for release on 12 March 2024 and will show the number of civil servants as at 31 December. Statistics for 2019 and all previous and upcoming releases can be found on the ONS website at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable

Darlington Economic Campus

Peter Gibson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of naming the permanent home of the Darlington Economic Campus, William McMullen House.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions Ministers from all departments have (a) held meetings at and (b) worked from the Darlington Economic Campus since August 2021.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects the works on the permanent site for the Darlington Economic Campus at Brunswick Street to commence.

Alex Burghart: With reference to your enquiry regarding the naming of the Darlington Economic Campus 'William McMullen House' I am happy to advise we will consider this suggestion, alongside other suggestions, when finalising the name of building.Naming of all new Government Hubs and other Government buildings must go through a process whereby all options must undergo sufficient due diligence. Selection of a preferred option will need to be agreed to by the Government Property Agency (GPA), occupying departments, local leaders and authorities including the Post Office.Naming of a new Government Hub will happen nearer to the point when the building is being delivered. In the case of Darlington Economic Campus this will be in 2025/26.Under the current programme, and subject to planning consent being granted mid-year and approval of the Full Business Case in the last quarter of this year, works will commence in the first quarter of 2025.Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

Cabinet Office: Diaries

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish his diary for 16 November 2023.

John Glen: I refer the Hon. Member to my response to UIN 16454 on 6th March 2024.

Cabinet Office: Domestic Visits

Pat McFadden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in his Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.

Alex Burghart: The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals).But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Ministers: Defamation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, from what budget (a) legal fees for defamation cases brought against ministers and (b) settlement in such cases will come.

Justin Madders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is the Government's policy to pay (a) legal costs and (b) damages in relation to allegedly defamatory comments made by Ministers.

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse is for settling claims for (a) defamation and (b) libel by Ministers since 19 December 2019.

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost to the public purse was of legal support provided to Ministers of the Crown in relation to claims for (a) defamation and (b) libel connected with their official duties since 19 December 2019.

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many individual occasions the provision of legal support has been (a) authorised and (b) declined on claims for (i) defamation and (ii) libel connected with the official duties of Ministers of the Crown since 19 December 2019.

Alex Burghart: In line with the established practice under multiple administrations of all political colours, Ministers are provided with legal support and representation where matters relate to their conduct and responsibilities as a Minister. Statistics relating to costs of settling claims, costs of legal support, and the number of times the provision of legal support has been authorised or declined are not maintained by the Cabinet Office. Funding for appropriate legal costs, including any out-of-court settlements, would be met by the relevant department's budget. As set out in Chapter 6 of the Cabinet Manual, Ministers are indemnified by the Crown for any actions taken against them for things done or decisions made in the course of their ministerial duties. The indemnity covers the cost of defending the proceedings, as well as any costs or damages awarded against the minister. Decisions about whether to provide legal support are made by the relevant department’s Accounting Officer. This reflects an important principle that Ministers should be able to carry out their official duties, supported by official advice, in a way which they see fit, without the risk of personal liability constraining their ability to take those official actions. Of course, Ministers remain accountable to Parliament and the wider public for their actions as a Minister. It would have a chilling effect on public life if Ministers faced the prospect of personal financial harm from those seeking to pressure the Government through vexatious or hostile litigation (or the threat thereof). More broadly, the principle of legal support from the public purse for official duties is not confined to government. I would observe that there is insurance available to MPs provided by the House at taxpayers’ expense, designed to protect hon. Members when carrying out parliamentary and constituency duties. This includes professional indemnity insurance that covers defamation. I also note that the House of Lords Commission is due this week to discuss the provision of professional indemnity insurance to peers.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gaza: Hamas

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with officials from the Israeli government on the number of Hamas terrorists killed in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government has not made an official estimate of the number of Hamas terrorists killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023. We continue to engage closely with the Israeli Government at all levels on the ongoing conflict.

Immigration

David Morris: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the debate entitled The theme of migration and asylum in election campaigns and the consequences on the welcoming and rights of migrants at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 23 January 2024.

Leo Docherty: Current levels of immigration are unprecedented with net migration at 672,000 in the year to June 2023, up significantly on pre-pandemic volumes. This is partly because the UK is at the forefront of efforts to support those who flee persecution, conflict and instability. We welcomed over half a million people on resettlement schemes and visa routes since 2015. In parallel the government is addressing legal migration, including a plan to curb immigration abuse. We are working with international partners to tackle illegal migration.

COE Commissioner for Human Rights

David Morris: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate entitled Annual activity report 2023 by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 22 January 2024.

Leo Docherty: The UK has noted the Annual Report of the Council of Europe's independent Commissioner for Human Rights. We particularly welcome the Commissioner's focus on the human rights situation of children forcibly transferred or deported to Russia or Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine. The UK supported the Reykjavik Declaration on the situation of the children of Ukraine and continues to support accountability efforts, including through sanctions, awareness-raising campaigns and our participation in the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Publishing

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three financial years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.

David Rutley: The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Reports and guidance that the Department has published can be found on Gov.uk.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Fraud and Maladministration

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

David Rutley: The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits. The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crossgovernment-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022]. This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023.Details on detected fraud and error in the FCDO in each of the last three financial years can be found in the Annual Reports and Accounts:[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1019938/FCDO_annual_report_and_accounts_2020_to_2021_accessible.pdf][https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62e3bd54e90e07143d51932f/FCDO_Annual_Report_2021_2022_Accessible_290722.pdf][https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64b18b8f07d4b8000d34733a/Foreign-Commonwealth-and-Development-Office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023.pdf]

Yemen: Houthis

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the treatment of women and girls by Houthi groups in Yemen.

David Rutley: The UK remains deeply concerned by reports of gender-based violence (GBV), including conflict-related sexual violence, in Yemen. We know that in conflict, women and girls are disproportionately impacted. That is why we have made Yemen a focus country in the UK's National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security. Through the National Action Plan, cross-government efforts will prioritise women's full, equal, meaningful and safe participation in conflict prevention, reduction and resolution. The UK champions the important role women, youth and civil society can play - both in securing, and sustaining, peace in Yemen.In addition, FCDO funds our Women and Children Programme to address the needs of women and children in Yemen. Funding for 2023-2024 is £38 million. This will include interventions aimed at preventing and responding to GBV in subsequent years.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Defamation

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.

David Rutley: The FCDO are unable to confirm these details in line with paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code which states: "The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority."

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help tackle conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, there has been a significant escalation of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan. The UK has reprioritised its official development assistance programming to focus on gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, protection of and care for rape survivors. We have also integrated CRSV into humanitarian assistance, making use of local Women's Centres, mobile clinics and internally displaced person's gathering points, for community engagement and service provision. In Sudan in 2023, over 26,000 people have been provided with sexual and reproductive health services, over 38,000 people have been given mental health and psychological support, and over 9,000 people have benefited from risk mitigation and response services.

Gaza: Hamas

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what his policy is on the potential future role of (a) Hamas and (b) Hamas-affiliated groups in (i) civic, (ii) military and (iii) political roles in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Vital elements for a lasting peace include the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have reiterated these messages in their contacts with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political leaders, as well as leaders in Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in recent weeks.The Palestinian Authority has an important long-term role to play. We must work with our allies to provide serious, practical and enduring support needed to bolster the Palestinian Authority, who must also take much needed steps on reform, including setting out a pathway to democratic progress.

UN Security Council: Reform

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the UN Meetings Coverage reports GA/12563, published on 17 November 2023, and GA/12586, published on 5 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of proposals to reform the UN Security Council to limit the power of veto.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As a permanent member of the Security Council, we consider the veto a heavy responsibility, to be used in the interests of securing international peace and security.We support responsible and accountable use of the veto. The UK Government was proud to co-sponsor the Veto Initiative that enables the General Assembly to scrutinise use of the veto. We support the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency code of conduct, through which we have committed not to vote against a credible draft resolution to prevent or end a mass atrocity. The UK has not used its veto since 1989.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the document entitled Draft terms of reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what updates his Department has provided on relevant developments in its area of work to that group since 2019.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 1 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

Mozambique: Armed Conflict

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps the UK is taking to address sexual violence as a weapon of war in the Mozambique.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK has provided up to £24 million in humanitarian support in Cabo Delgado to date and is reaching up to 100,000 of the most vulnerable people displaced by conflict. This includes increased support through mobile health brigades and the provision of civic documentation for those displaced, along with mental health and psychosocial support for those displaced, including assistance for women and girls affected by gender-based violence and trauma. These interventions recognise the increased risk for women and girls in conflict settings and help to reduce some of the inequalities they face.

Burkina Faso: Churches

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in the Burkina Faso Government on the church attack in Oudalan Province on 25 February 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is appalled by the recent attacks against Churches, Mosques and local communities in Burkina Faso. As Lord Ahmad said last week, freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a fundamental right and must be protected, and those responsible for these heinous attacks must be held to account. The UK also signed up to the UN Security Council statement on terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso issued on 29 February 2024. We routinely discuss security challenges with the transitional authorities in Burkina Faso and continue to work with partners in the region to promote stability.

Sudan: Democracy and Human Rights

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of international coordination on supporting peace, human rights and democracy in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted the UK-led resolution 2724, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan during Ramadan. This resolution supports the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, to co-ordinate regional peace efforts. We continue to call on Sudan’s warring parties to commit to a meaningful peace process that will deliver the stability the Sudanese people deserve.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what reports his Department has received of steps taken to protect civilians in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to pursue all diplomatic avenues to help bring about a permanent ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access, to protect civilians and to commit the warring parties to a sustained and meaningful peace process. The UK has highlighted and condemned human rights abuses in statements and resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council, and directly with the Sudanese authorities. We continue to call for an end to the violence, and for those responsible for human rights violations to be held to account.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the potential impact of the conflict in Sudan on regional security.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK supports an immediate end to hostilities, both for the sake of Sudan's people, and to avoid spillover into the wider region. We continue to emphasise to the international community the importance of neutrality and of supporting a ceasefire and political transition. Since 15 April, 1.8 million people have been displaced outside of Sudan, many fleeing to neighbouring countries. The UK recognises the significant pressure that the Sudan crisis is putting on neighbouring countries and commends them for the support they are providing. We are helping those fleeing to neighbouring countries as a result of the conflict, with £7.75 million to support existing and new Sudanese refugees as well as vulnerable returnees and host communities in South Sudan and £15 million to Chad.

Overseas Trade: Sudan

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the impact of the conflict in Sudan on UK trade and investment in that region; and what support he is providing to British businesses potentially affected by that conflict.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Neither the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office nor Department for Business and Trade hold data centrally on the impact of the conflict on UK trade with and investment in Sudan. Trade between the UK and Sudan has been limited because of historic and continued sanctions against Sudan since 1997. With the British Embassy temporarily closed, it is regrettably not possible to provide support to British businesses affected by the conflict.

Mozambique: Armed Conflict

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help address the needs of women and girls (a) subjected to sexual slavery and other forms of gender-based violence and (b) otherwise affected by the conflict in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK has provided up to £24 million in humanitarian support in Cabo Delgado to date and is reaching up to 100,000 of the most vulnerable people displaced by conflict. This includes increased support through mobile health brigades and the provision of civic documentation for those displaced, along with mental health and psychosocial support for those displaced, including assistance for women and girls affected by gender-based violence and trauma. These interventions recognise the increased risk for women and girls in conflict settings and help to reduce some of the inequalities they face.

Gaza: Babies

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the statement by UNICEF of 3 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of reports that infants in Gaza are dying from (a) dehydration and (b) malnutrition.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are directly funding UNICEF and the Red Cross to provide vital support for children's health in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including mental health services, medical care, essential supplies, food security, nutrition, clean water, shelter and other humanitarian assistance. For UNICEF specifically, we have provided targeted support for children through a £5.75 million contribution, part of our wider £60 million humanitarian uplift. This is supporting their work to assist over 5,800 children with severe malnourishment. The UK has also supported the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver a new humanitarian land corridor from Jordan into Gaza. 750 tonnes of life-saving food aid arrived in the first delivery in December and there have been numerous deliveries since.Israel must take steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid into Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses, opening more routes into Gaza and restoring and sustaining water, fuel and electricity. We have reiterated the need for Israel to open more crossing points into Gaza, for Nitzana and Kerem Shalom to be open for longer, and for Israel to support the UN to distribute aid effectively across the whole of Gaza. We continue to raise this with Israel at the highest levels.

Israel: Arms Trade

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many arms licences have been issued to Israel since (a) 7 October 2023 and (b) the International Court of Justice's order relating to the case of the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v Israel), published on 26 January 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for Business and Trade will publish licensing statistics, including for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in line with its usual process.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Somalia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many officials from his Department are stationed in Somalia.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As of 29/02/2024, the FCDO had between 20 and 29 officials stationed in Somalia.

Mozambique: Politics and Government

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on (a) the security situation in Cabo Delgado and (b) its impact on regional stability.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is providing support to (a) Mozambique and (b) regional partners in relation to the (i) humanitarian and (ii) security situation in Cabo Delgado.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking steps with international partners to support displaced people in Cabo Delgado.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is reaching up to 100,000 of the most vulnerable people displaced by the conflict in Cabo Delgado province with emergency shelter, food and protection services. We are also working to address the underlying causes of the conflict by improving access to basic services, supporting development, building peace and resilience to shocks. In May 2023, the Minister of State for Development and Africa met President Nyusi and discussed UK support for the Government of Mozambique's response, including through new programmes aimed at building local resilience to violent extremism and security and human rights training that has been delivered to over 200 Armed Forces personnel to date.

Israel: Hamas

David Morris: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the debate entitled Recent developments in the Middle East: Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and Israel’s response at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 23 January 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Israel suffered the worst terror attack in its history at the hands of Hamas. Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We want the fighting to stop now. We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what medical (a) equipment and (b) other aid the UK has sent to Gaza by equipment type.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We have tripled our overall aid commitment and are supporting NGO and UN partners to deliver medical aid and care in the Gaza Strip. This includes support for primary healthcare, trauma and emergency care services, disease surveillance and outbreak response, and deployment of Emergency Medical Teams.We have provided targeted support for children through a £5.75 million contribution. This is supporting work to assist over 5,800 children with severe malnourishment and 853,000 children, adolescents and caregivers affected by the conflict, to receive emergency and child protection services, including mental health and psychosocial support. At the end of February, we announced £4.25 million to the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. This support is expected to reach about 111,500 women, around 1 in 5 of the adult women in Gaza. It will support up to 100 community midwives, the distribution of around 20,000 menstrual hygiene management kits and 45,000 clean delivery kits. On 21 Feb, the UK and Jordan air-dropped life-saving aid to the Tal Al-Hawa hospital in northern Gaza. Four tonnes of vital supplies were provided, including medicines, fuel, and food for hospital patients and staff. We are also exploring further options to help meet the medical needs of Palestinians.It must be recognised that the support to large scale appeals prevents us from directly attributing UK funding to specific items.

UNRWA: Finance

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the Government plans to resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the context of the interim investigation by the UN into allegations against UNRWA staff and the resumption of funding by other nations.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.As we have set out, we are pressing the UN Office of Internal Oversight and Catherine Colonna, who is leading the independent Review Group appointed by the UN Secretary-General, to produce a rapid interim report. We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again. We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza.Any future funding decisions will be taken after UNRWA's review has concluded.

Gaza: Hamas

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the treatment of female hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government continues to be appalled by the reports of conflict-related sexual violence committed by Hamas on 7 October and against hostages, including the recent report from UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten. The UK condemns sexual violence unequivocally and without exception. Hamas must release all hostages and all reports of sexual violence must be fully investigated to ensure justice for survivors and victims. The UK has been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals and their families.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of aid trucks reaching Gaza each (a) day and (b) month in the last year.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: There were 500 trucks entering Gaza per day before the conflict, now that number is around 150. There was a 31 per cent decrease in the average number of trucks entering Gaza daily between January (140 trucks) and February (97 trucks).A minimum of 500 trucks of humanitarian aid are now needed in Gaza. We have been clear that Israel must take action to allow more aid into Gaza. We want to see a scale up of the Jordan corridor, with a streamlined screening and delivery process, the opening of a crossing in northern Gaza (Karni, Erez or a new crossing point), Ashdod Port fully opened for aid delivery and increased screening capacity at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana to seven days a week and extended hours.

Zambia: Food Supply

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the food security situation in Zambia following the recent drought.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are concerned about the food security situation in the Republic of Zambia and welcome President Hichilema's early action declaring a State of National Disaster and Emergency due to drought. This drought will have huge humanitarian and economic impacts across the country, with approximately 1 million of the 2.2 million hectares of planted maize crops already destroyed, affecting many farming households. On 6 March, the UK rapidly deployed a Humanitarian and Stabilisation Operations Team to help build technical capacity and support the response. We will continue to monitor the situation and support the Republic of Zambia.

UNRWA: Finance

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the joint NGO statement entitled EU and Member States must sustain funding to UNRWA, published on 29 February 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.As we have set out, we are pressing the UN Office of Internal Oversight and Catherine Colonna, who is leading the independent Review Group appointed by the UN Secretary-General, to produce a rapid interim report. We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again. We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza.Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the current humanitarian response. We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings. We are providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.We are aware of the NGO statement referred to by the Member for Liverpool, Walton.

Ethiopia: Humanitarian Situation

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the humanitarian situation in the Gambella region of Ethiopia following the migration of people from South Sudan to the area.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Ethiopia hosts nearly 1 million refugees of whom 43%, roughly 420,000 people, originate from South Sudan. The vast majority of South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia reside in seven camps in Gambella region. Refugees experience pressing humanitarian hardships in Gambella due to a combination of factors including recurrent flooding exacerbated by a shortage of donor funding. Between 2022 and 2023 aid agencies recorded a near doubling of cases of severe acute malnutrition among children under five years at Kule refugee camp. The UK is lobbying humanitarian agencies to ensure aid is prioritised effectively and reaches the most vulnerable.

Undocumented Migrants

Henry Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help tackle illegal migration.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We [FCDO] are engaging with international partners on a 'whole of route' approach to addressing irregular migration. This includes a multi-year operational plan with France to stop small boats, developing partnerships to tackle organised immigration crime, improving returns processes and working with partner countries through international fora to address the root causes of irregular migration, such as conflict and climate change.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Mauritius

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to visit Mauritius.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: It is long-standing policy not to comment on Ministerial travel. To do so could compromise the integrity of protective security arrangements and affect the safety of the individuals involved.

Sudan: Crimes against Humanity

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to support international efforts to ensure accountability for those responsible for (a) potential war crimes and (b) other atrocity crimes in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We welcome the report of 23 February by the High Commissioner for Human Rights and his Expert, Radhoune Nouicer, on the situation in Sudan. The report details multiple atrocities committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces. We continue to take a leading role in supporting processes for justice and accountability in Sudan. In October 2023, the UN Human Rights Council adopted the UK-led Sudan Core Group resolution to establish an independent and international Fact-Finding Mission. This will support future accountability efforts in Sudan. The UK is also funding open-source investigation experts to use satellite and social media to verify and preserve information relating to attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Zimbabwe: Period Poverty

Ruth Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Zimbabwe on period poverty.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: I have not reviewed this matter in my meetings with President Mnangagwa or his Minister but supporting women and girls in Zimbabwe is a UK priority. Through our health programme the UK has delivered menstrual health education as part of the Sister2Sister (S2S) clubs which included supporting sustainable menstrual health options for girls such as disposable pads, reusable pads, menstrual cups, and menstrual underwear. Since 2012 the UK has worked alongside the Government of Zimbabwe to help provide sanitary products for schools through the Zimbabwe Girls Secondary Education (ZGSE) Programme implemented by CAMFED.

Gaza: Access

Ian Byrne: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help ensure access (a) into Gaza and (b) across the Strip.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: An immediate humanitarian pause is the most effective way of increasing the flow of much-needed aid into Gaza and securing the safe release of hostages. Crucially, it would also allow for progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.We have been clear about the steps which are needed to get more aid into Gaza. All parties must take immediate action to ensure unhindered humanitarian access, ease restrictions on humanitarian supplies and ensure the UN and aid agencies can reach civilians in need throughout Gaza. We are focussed on five key humanitarian needs in our engagements with Israel:1. An effective de-confliction mechanism to enable safe distribution of aid through that extended humanitarian pause.2. Increased capacity inside of Gaza, enabling the humanitarian system and private sector to scale up the provision of goods.3. Increased access for aid through land and sea routes.4. An expansion of humanitarian assistance for Gaza, including fuel, shelter and public health items, as well as items critical for infrastructure repair.5. The provision of electricity, water and telecommunications.We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings. The Foreign Secretary has appointed his Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mark Bryson-Richardson. He is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.

World Food Programme

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the World Food Programme Deputy Executive Director's statement to the UN Security Council on 27 February 2024.

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the statement by World Food Programme's Palestine Country Director of 4 March 2024 on the need for an aid corridor to northern Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. We have trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we will continue to support the United Nations World Food Programme to deliver humanitarian aid. We have been clear that Israel must take concrete steps, working with other partners including the UN and Egypt, to significantly increase the flow of aid across Gaza including allowing prolonged humanitarian pauses and opening more routes into Gaza.We need Israel to ensure the UN has the people, vehicles, equipment and fuel to distribute aid safely across Gaza, and to open the Erez Crossing to allow direct access to the north of Gaza.We continue to call for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.

Serbia: Elections

David Morris: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate entitled Observation of the early parliamentary elections in Serbia at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 22 January 2024.

Leo Docherty: The UK welcomes the 22 January debate in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on observation of Parliamentary elections in Serbia in December 2023. The UK contributed a strong contingent to the combined international monitoring mission, alongside support for local election observation. The UK shares concerns over election irregularities and welcomes President Vucic's pledge to implement the recommendations set out in the final OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) report. The UK stands ready to support Serbia in this important work and urges meaningful progress before elections this spring.

Sudan: Politics and Government

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking with international partners to help ensure a more concerted political effort on the situation in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK condemns the ongoing violence in Sudan following the outbreak of conflict on 15 April 2023. The UK continues to work with a wide range of countries and bodies, including traditional allies, Gulf and African partners, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN, to achieve a ceasefire and take forward a sustained and meaningful peace process that leads to the resumption of civilian rule in Sudan.

Sudan: Human Rights

Ruth Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in Sudan on human rights issues.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Our senior diplomats have used meetings with senior decision-makers in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to raise concerns about credible reports of human rights violations. The UK has consistently denounced mounting reports of serious atrocities that have taken place in Sudan since 15 April 2023 and secured a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October 2023 to establish a fact-finding mission for Sudan. We continue to support the essential work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan (OHCHR) and the International Criminal Court in investigating and documenting reports of human rights violations.

Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to facilitate the opening of humanitarian corridors in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Our top humanitarian priority remains securing immediate humanitarian access and operational security guarantees for humanitarian agencies. The UK strongly condemns the decision on 21 February by the Sudanese Armed Forces to withdraw permission for cross-border deliveries of humanitarian aid from Adré in Chad. As penholder on Sudan, we urgently convened the Security Council to consider this matter. We note the SAF's commitments on 5 March date to facilitate crossline and other cross-border routes for the delivery of life-saving assistance to Darfur and the Kordofans and we are calling on them to ensure that these commitments are honoured in full. The UK continues to work with regional and international partners to help bring an end to the hostilities, ensure the protection of civilians and secure safe humanitarian access to and for the most at need communities.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

David Morris: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate entitled Globalisation in times of crisis and war: the role of the OECD since the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 24 January 2024.

Leo Docherty: The UK has played an important role in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) response to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, including by making Ukraine a focus of the UK chaired Ministerial Council Meeting in 2023. We have also fully supported the OECD's firm response to Russia's actions in Ukraine, including its decision to suspend Russia and Belarus from OECD bodies and programmes, close the OECD office in Moscow and open an OECD-Ukraine liaison office in Kyiv.We also strongly support the OECD's broader work to address shared challenges in the current global context, including its work to promote economic resilience and tackle social inequality.

Attorney General

Ministers: Defamation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions the Law Officers have been informed that ministers in other Government departments are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.

Victoria Prentis: I cannot answer your question as to do so would be in breach of the Law Officers’ Convention.Paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code clearly states that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Legal Costs

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether any costs were incurred by the Government Legal Department in relation to the libel action pursued by Professor Kate Sang against the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, following her letter of 23 October 2023 to UK Research and Innovation on that organisation's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion board.

Robert Courts: In line with normal Government Legal Department charging arrangements, any costs in relation to this matter have been or will be borne by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Attorney General: WhatsApp

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Attorney General, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Robert Courts: All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by myself and the Attorney General (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).

Government Departments: Legal Opinion

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney General, what guidance she has provided to Cabinet colleagues on when to publish (a) full and (b) summaries of legal advice.

Robert Courts: Departments are responsible for procuring their own legal advice and may decide when and how to disclose that advice outside Government. However, advice provided by the Law Officers is subject to the Law Officers’ Convention and may not be disclosed outside Government without the Law Officers’ consent. This is a longstanding principle of Cabinet collective agreement.

Attorney General: Fraud and Maladministration

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Attorney General, what estimate she has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by her Department in each of the last three financial years.

Robert Courts: There have been no incidents of money lost to fraud and error by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) in each of the last three financial years.Information relating to detected fraud and error for the AGO is published in the HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Annual Reports and Accounts (HMPGTS Accounts). The HMPGTS Accounts for the financial years 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 are available on GOV.UK at the following links: 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. The HMPGTS Accounts contain information relating to the AGO, Government Legal Department, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report which is available on GOV.UK: Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020-21 Report was published in March 2023.

Treasury

Public Sector: Productivity

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to increase public sector productivity.

Laura Trott: The government has a relentless focus on getting the most out of every pound spent by boosting public sector productivity and by focusing spending on the government’s priorities.The Chancellor provided an update on the Public Sector Productivity Programme at the Spring Budget on 6 March where he announced £4.2 billion of total funding to drive productivity in the public sector.As part of this, the government is backing the NHS with £3.4 billion to double investment in technological and digital transformation. This investment means the NHS can commit to deliver 2% annual productivity growth in the final two years of the next Parliament, which will help unlock £35 billion of savings.The government is investing a further £800 million in wider public services which will deliver up to £1.8 billion worth of benefits over the forecast period.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, if he will publish a detailed breakdown of the Barnett consequential for Scotland.

Laura Trott: As a result of decisions at Spring Budget, the Scottish Government are now receiving around £295 million in additional funding in 2024-25 through the Barnett formula. It is for the Scottish Government to allocate their resources in devolved areas as they see fit.

Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reversing the decision to reprofile Fresh Start Funding.

Laura Trott: The UK Government is providing the Northern Ireland Executive with a comprehensive £3.3 billion spending settlement.Within this package, the Government is providing the Northern Ireland Executive with £708 million RDEL to support public services over five years from 2024-25 to 2028-29. This is comprised of £85 million new funding and un-ringfencing £623 million of existing Northern Ireland funding streams.Within the £708 million, £235 million is ringfenced for transformation and its release is subject to the establishment of a Public Service Transformation Board. The remaining £473 million is un-ringfenced. This means the Executive can choose how to use the funding for its priorities, including continuing projects.

National Insurance: Foster Care

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2024 to Question 15683 on National Insurance: Foster Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of topping-up the National Insurance contributions of foster carers who were unable to work due to the rules that were in place before 2003.

Nigel Huddleston: Between 2003 and 2010, foster carers could claim Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) to protect their National Insurance record. Foster carers who did not claim HRP at the time can make a retrospective claim now – guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/home-responsibilities-protection-hrp There are no plans to extend this period to allow foster carers to claim HRP before 6 April 2003. For periods prior to 2003, foster carers could have paid voluntary NICs to protect their National Insurance (NI) record subject to the normal time limits. Time limits for voluntary NICs are an important feature of the NI system, which operates on a pay as you go basis; the National Insurance contributions (NICs) paid now are used to fund today’s contributory benefits. There are no plans to allow foster carers to pay voluntary NICs for periods before 2003 to top up their NI records, outside of the existing rules for voluntary NICs. This maintains fairness for other individuals who have paid voluntary NICs within the required time limits. At Spring Budget 2023, the government increased the amount of income tax relief available to foster carers and shared lives carers. The threshold of income at which qualifying carers begin paying tax on care income was increased to £18,140 per year plus £375 to £450 per person cared for per week for 2023-24 (the weekly amount range is based on age of the child or adult under care). Both the threshold and weekly amounts will then be index-linked from 2024-25 onwards, representing a tax cut worth approximately £450 per year on average

Equal Pay

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help close the gender pay gap.

Gareth Davies: HMT published its 2022/23 Gender Pay Gap Report in November 2023 (HM Treasury’s Gender Pay Gap Report 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk))

Pension Funds: Energy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to make investment in energy infrastructure more attractive for pension funds.

Gareth Davies: The government is attracting tens of billions of private investment into energy infrastructure from a wide variety of sources. Autumn Statement 2023 announced planning and grid reforms which could bring forward £90 billion of investment in energy infrastructure over 10 years, and since September 2023 alone companies have announced plans for £30 billion of new energy investment. Autumn Statement added to the significant progress government has already made in creating the right enabling environment for infrastructure in decarbonization, as set out in Powering Up Britain. This includes:- Innovative financing mechanisms and business models to provide revenue support and long-term certainty for investors in green industries, including Contracts for Difference (CfDs) for renewable energy generation, Regulated Asset Base (RAB) for nuclear, and models for CCUS and hydrogen.- A strong public finance offer, including the £22bn in financial capacity in the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) which enables it to partner with the private sector and government to increase net zero infrastructure investment. Spring Budget 2024 delivers and builds on announcements from Autumn Statement, creating the enabling environment for net zero investment through energy system reforms. This includes:- Confirmation of the parameters of the 6th Contracts for Difference (CfD) round for offshore wind, with the largest ever budget set at £1 billion.- Seizing the growth opportunities of the net zero transition, with an additional £120 million for the Green Industries Growth Accelerator targeted at manufacturing capacity in the clean energy sectors where the UK has the strongest current or potential advantage: CCUS, hydrogen, offshore wind, networks, and nuclear. This brings overall funding for the Green Industries Growth Accelerator to over £1 billion.- The pensions reforms currently being developed by the Government, Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator, which will also help ensure that pension funds are investing in the full range of asset classes including infrastructure.

Clean Air Zones

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing financial support for drivers to upgrade to Clean Air Zone compliant vehicles for (a) residents of Clean Air Zones and (b) non-residents who may travel into Clean Air Zones.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of means-tested exemptions from Clean Air Zone fees for people on low incomes.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what central Government funding is available for local authorities looking to introduce (a) Clean Air Zones and (b) Scrappage Schemes for residents with non-compliant vehicles.

Gareth Davies: Responsibility for road charging measures such as Clean Air Zones (CAZ) lie with Local Authorities. The local authority is responsible for the measures they introduce to address air quality in their local area as well as whether to provide exemptions that address issues such as the need to upgrade vehicles and support for those on Low incomes.  Government has allocated £883m under the NO2 Programme to help Local Authorities tackle NO2 exceedances as well as set up the Clean Air Fund to mitigate the impact of air quality measures, including Clean Air Zones, on those residents and businesses most affected. To date, more than £402m of support from the Clean Air Fund has been allocated to Local Authorities in areas with NO2 exceedances.

Treasury: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

Gareth Davies: The requested information is not centrally held and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.HM Treasury’s approach to employ those with a criminal record is assessed at national security level and all decisions are made in line with Cabinet Office’s Security Vetting Guidance.

Treasury: Defamation

James Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19December2019.

Gareth Davies: HM Treasury is unable to confirm these details, in line with paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code.

Fiscal Policy: Gender

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using gender budgeting for his fiscal policies.

Bim Afolami: In developing proposals for fiscal events, the Treasury takes care to consider the equality impacts on those sharing any of the nine protected characteristics, including gender, in line with both our legal obligations and this government’s strong commitment to promoting fairness.We go beyond our legal requirements by publishing a summary of equality impacts for tax measures within in the Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) alongside the Finance Bill.

Housing: Valuation

Paul Howell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's contract ContractFinder procurement reference VOA/2023/033, what the budget is for the development of the Automated Valuation Model, and at what stage in its development is the current model.

Paul Howell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's contract Contract Finder procurement reference VOA/2023/033, if he will list each of the associated contracts that have been awarded to assist the development of the Automated Valuation Model with (a) name of supplier and (b) awarded value; and what external datasets have been purchased to assist that development.

Nigel Huddleston: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has developed an Automated Valuation Model in-house as part of its preparations for the proposed Council Tax Revaluation in Wales. I would observe that this is a policy proposed by the Labour Welsh Government, and does not represent the policy position of the UK Government in England.The let contract relates to an independent audit of the VOA’s Automated Valuation Model, undertaken to ensure it meets expected international standards.VOA used its own data, and already available data from third parties, for the model development, at no additional cost. To assist with the development process, the VOA let a short-term advisory contract with the Center for Appraisal Research and Technology (CART), budgeted at $6,000.

Tax Avoidance

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many section 684 notices were issued by HMRC in each of the last five years.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many notices under section 684 of the Income Tax Act 2007 have been issued to individuals with Loan Charge liabilities incurred before December 2010.

Nigel Huddleston: In the context of Disguised Remuneration (DR), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has in some circumstances used the power provided under s.684(7A)(b) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (the Discretion) to collect the tax owed; and since 2022, HMRC has issued around 2,700 decisions using the Discretion.In his independent review, Lord Morse recommended that the Loan Charge should no longer apply to loans made before 9 December 2010. However, Lord Morse said “HMRC should continue being able to settle and investigate cases prior to this point under their normal powers where they have appropriate grounds, and a legal basis, to do so”.In line with this recommendation, HMRC is still seeking to recover the tax due where it had taken the necessary steps in the past to ensure there is an open tax enquiry or assessment which gives it the legal basis to do so.In May 2022, the Court of Appeal said that HMRC could consider using the Discretion to collect tax directly from the individual who received income through a DR scheme.

Philips Trust Corporation

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take steps to support people who lost (a) money and (b) assets due to the collapse of the Philips Trust Corporation.

Bim Afolami: The Philips Trust Corporation was not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and was not carrying out any regulated activities. As such, any losses are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.Consumers who have concerns about the role played by their bank or building society in relation to Philips Trust Corporation may be eligible to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Whether a particular complaint is eligible or not is a matter for the FOS.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the UK’s global competitiveness in green finance.

Bim Afolami: The Government has taken world-leading action to green the financial system, and we remain fully committed to that work. The action we have taken is part of the reason that London has been consistently ranked as the world’s top financial centre in the Global Green Finance Index.We were the first major country to publish a Green Finance Strategy in 2019 and in March 2023 we published an updated Green Finance Strategy. It set out our ambitious work on green finance, providing further clarity on key policy areas such as our ambition to become a Net Zero Aligned Financial Centre, and next steps under our Sustainability Disclosure Requirements framework, including transition plan disclosures, and next steps on the UK Green Taxonomy. In addition, as part of the 2024 Spring Budget, the Government has announced that it will proceed with developing a regulatory regime for ESG ratings providers, aiming to improve transparency and promote good conduct.

Banks: Gambling

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with banks on (a) limits on spending for gambling addicts and (b) issuing loans to gambling addicts.

Bim Afolami: The Government recognises the important role banks and other financial services can play in supporting efforts to tackle gambling related harm.Around 90% of retail bank accounts and an increasing number of payment providers now offer opt-in gambling blocks, which can be used to manage customers’ gambling spend. The Government welcomes industry-led improvements to these tools. For example, we are aware some providers have made the gambling management tools more customisable, allowing customers to set gambling spending limits or block all transactions entirely.Regarding loans to people with gambling addictions, protecting vulnerable consumers is a key priority for the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates the consumer credit market. Under FCA rules, firms undertaking creditworthiness assessments must assess whether a customer will repay, but also the customer’s ability to repay affordably and without significantly affecting their wider financial situation.Officials meet regularly with the FCA and banks to discuss these issues.In April 2020, the Gambling Commission also introduced a ban on using credit cards to gamble to help minimise the risk of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have.

Sanctions: Middle East and North Africa

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential economic impact of boycotts of Western brands in the Middle East and North Africa.

Bim Afolami: Boycotts of Western brands in the Middle East and North Africa are unlikely to have a material impact on the UK economy as a whole.

New Businesses: Investment

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consultation she undertook with (a) investors, (b) business organisations and (c) entrepreneurs prior to the announcement that the angel investment annual income threshold would be increasing.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the potential impact on women of the increase in the angel investor annual income threshold to £170,000.

Bim Afolami: The Chancellor announced at Budget that the Government will legislate to reinstate the previous eligibility criteria to qualify as a high net worth or sophisticated investor. The relevant legislation was laid in Parliament on 6 March, and is set to come into force on 27 March.

Loans: Environment Protection

Olivia Blake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Bank of England introducing a dual interest rate policy with a lower rate for lending to green projects.

Bim Afolami: The Chancellor most recently reaffirmed the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) remit at the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023.The Government recognises the importance of not overly expanding the MPC’s remit to allow the MPC to focus on its primary objective of price stability, as it rightly has. It is for the MPC to judge how it can best support the Government’s economic objectives using its monetary policy tools, subject to achieving its primary objective of price stability.The Government has taken world-leading action to green the financial system, and we remain fully committed to that work.

Hearing Aids: VAT

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to zero rate hearing aids.

Nigel Huddleston: Most hearing aids are dispensed free of charge to NHS patients. Specialised hearing devices designed for people with severely defective hearing are relieved of VAT, when purchased by disabled people. However, generic hearing aids that are not designed specifically for disabled persons are not relieved of VAT.The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Revenue and Customs: Conferences

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who attended HMRC's stakeholder conference this year.

Nigel Huddleston: We are unable to provide specific details of the individuals who attended as this would be in breach of GDPR rules.

Treasury: Fraud and Maladministration

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Nigel Huddleston: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publish annual statistical estimates of the size of the tax gap and money lost to fraud and error. The latest estimates of the tax gap were published in Measuring tax gaps 2023 edition: tax gap estimates for 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest error and fraud estimates for the Corporation Tax Research and Development relief schemes and for Child Benefit were published in HMRC annual report and accounts: 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest published Tax Credits Error and Fraud statistics were published in Child and Working Tax Credits error and fraud statistics 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Ministry of Justice

Damages: Public Consultation

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of launching a public consultation on updating the law on bereavement damages in England and Wales.

Mike Freer: There are no current plans to consult on reforms. The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.

Ministry of Justice: Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the document entitled Draft terms of reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what updates his Department has provided on relevant developments in its area of work to that group since 2019.

Mike Freer: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 01 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

Coroners: Correspondence

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of sending coroner inquest notification letters to bereaved family members using signed for delivery.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing bereaved family members to receive coroner inquest notifications by text message.

Mike Freer: While the Ministry of Justice is responsible for coroner law and policy, it does not have operational responsibility for coroner services as they are a local service, funded and administered by individual local authorities. Moreover, coroners are independent judges and the way in which they manage their investigations and inquests is a matter for them. Rule 9(1) of the Coroners (Inquests) Rules 2013 requires the coroner to notify the deceased person’s next of kin of the date, time and place of the inquest hearing. The method by which this notification is provided is a matter for the individual coroner service.

Ministry of Justice: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

Mike Freer: As of September 2023, there were 101,276[1] (FTE) staff in post across the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).To provide the quantitative base to answer this PQ, this could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. This would require manually entering each individual record to extract the data and engaging with all workplaces across England and Wales to ascertain locally managed/ recorded information. All Ministry of Justice staff are held to high levels of professional and personal conduct and are subject to pre-employment vetting checks to ensure suitability for employment into post. Across the MoJ, all directly employed roles require a minimum of Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) level to enter the organisation and this includes a request of criminal conviction history. For any roles requiring a higher security level, roles may require an enhanced DBS check or be subject to National Security Vetting (NSV) checks which are carried out externally by UK Security Vetting (UKSV). Across the MoJ, we must act in accordance with the high expectations that the Government and members of the public expect from us to ensure we drive our vision to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone. People are at the heart of what we do, and security and safety considerations are paramount in ensuring we welcome the right people to come to work for us to deliver our objectives. This might mean that some people may not ever be considered suitable to hold employment with us because of their background. Criminal conviction history of the applicant, including offence type and length of time since conviction will be assessed during vetting decision making to assess suitability for the role applied.[1] Workforce management information: MOJ - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Damages

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 9 of the report of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers entitled Bereavement damages: a dis-united kingdom, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policy on bereavement damages of the findings of the YouGov survey on public attitude to the individual assessment of compensation claims.

Mike Freer: Any review of the system of bereavement damages in England and Wales would have regard to all relevant material, but there are no current plans to undertake a review.The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.

Damages: Scotland

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011 in compensating bereaved relatives in Scotland.

Mike Freer: Any review of the system of bereavement damages in England and Wales would have regard to the legislative approach adopted in Scotland and other jurisdictions, but there are no current plans to undertake a review.The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.

Damages

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on identifying a suitable legislative vehicle to extend eligibility for bereavement damages under section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 to fathers of illegitimate children.

Mike Freer: The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.

Damages

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 17 April 2023 to Question 176607 on Fatal Accidents Act 1976, what the basis is for his Department's assessment that an extension of eligibility for bereavement damages could lead in some cases to intrusive and upsetting investigations.

Mike Freer: The assessment is based on a strong sense that such an extension of the current legislative framework (for those eligible for bereavement damages) may lead to defendants seeking in some cases to question or challenge relationships. For example, seeking to establish whether a person was the child of the deceased person. Another example might be competing claims for an award, such as where a deceased person had both a surviving spouse and a cohabiting partner. The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.

Sentencing: Attendance

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the number of offenders refusing to attend sentencing hearings who were convicted of an offence where (a) a life sentence must or may be imposed and (b) where the maximum sentence does not permit a life sentence to be imposed in each of the last three years.

Gareth Bacon: The information requested is not held centrally. However, our data shows that from January 2021 to June 2023, 182 cases in the Crown Court were sentenced in absence of the defendant where the defendant was remanded in custody. However, the data does not provide the reason for non-attendance and therefore includes non-attendance due to reasons other than refusal, such as transportation issues or legitimate illness.We are introducing legislation to compel offenders to attend their sentencing hearings to meet the growing public concern relating to offenders who have committed the most serious of offences, including Koci Selamaj, Thomas Cashman and Lucy Letby, who refuse to face up to their crimes and hear how they have impacted the victims and their families.An offender’s refusal to attend their hearing can cause anger and upset for victims and their families - offenders should attend court to face the consequences of their crimes.The legislation makes it clear in law that a court can order the production of any offender in the Crown Court to attend their sentencing hearing and that reasonable force can be used to secure their attendance where necessary and proportionate.In addition, we want courts to have the powers to punish offenders convicted of the most serious offences who do not attend their sentencing hearing without good reason, to ensure that they face up to their crimes and hear how they have impacted the victims and their families. This measure will capture offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery.

Criminal Proceedings: Victims

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of its data collection systems in regard to victims.

Laura Farris: There are two main services for victims, the Domestic Abuse Safety Officer Service and the Victim Contact Scheme. The Probation Service runs the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS) for victims of offenders convicted of serious violent or sexual offences, who are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. It has carried out changes in 2021 to ensure efficacy of its systems in relation to data collection to support the Victims’ Code of Practice. There is also ongoing work to develop a set of national performance measures which can be used to measure the impact of the scheme and inform future development and decision making. A change to the referral process in 2021, outlined in the Victims’ Code of Practice, now directs that victim’s contact details are automatically sent to Probation Service Victim Contact Units. These details are then recorded on the Probation Service Victim Contact Management System. This ensures timely offers of the VCS to victims, allowing them the choice of whether or not to engage in the scheme. To ensure the receipt of referrals, Probation staff also run reports from court and probation systems to ensure the receipt of qualifying cases. Figures from the Victim Satisfaction Survey linked to the scheme continues to show positive satisfaction of above 80% from victims who engage in the scheme. To date, there has been no evaluation of the effectiveness of the Domestic Abuse Safety Officer service. This is a service that is offered to all victims and new partners of people attending Probation Service-run domestic abuse rehabilitation programmes. In July 2023, a national case management database was launched. This is a robust system, which enabled efficient collation, monitoring, and analysis of victim data. There is ongoing work to develop a set of national performance measures which can be used to measure the impact of the scheme and inform future development and decision making. Furthermore, in September 2023, the new digital service to apply for criminal injuries compensation was made available to 100% of applicants. The number of questions asked as part of applying for compensation was reduced where possible - by 20-30% on some application journeys - compared to the older service we replaced. This approach was supported by user research and trauma-informed practice, to ensure the data we are collecting is proportionate and required to enable the decision-making process - for example, we removed the mandatory need for victims to describe the nature of the incident as part of the application process, to reduce the risk of re-traumatisation.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Fraud and Maladministration

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits. The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022). This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in Central Government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020-21 Report was published in March 2023. Ministry of Defence detected £149 million fraud in FY 2020-21, published in the Annual Reports and Accounts for FY 2022-23 – page 79.(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023)

Ministry of Defence: Defamation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We are unable to confirm these details as, under of the Law Officers' Convention, the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.

Army: Apprentices

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many soldiers have completed the Army’s apprenticeship programme in each year since 2019; and in which sectors those apprenticeships were completed.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The information requested is provided in the following table.Army Apprenticeship Achievements since 2019. Apprenticeship TypeRoute/Subject Sector AreaAug 2019 - Jul 2020Aug 2020 - Jul 2021Aug 2021 - Jul 2022Aug 2022 - Jul 2023StandardAgriculture, environmental and animal care002127Business and administration0114162198Catering and hospitality2316850Construction and the built environment003126Digital601041Education and early years00232Engineering and manufacturing641615Health and science343196168Protective services821,0921,0511,987Transport and logistics313337707Framework01 - Health, Public Services and Care1,3683121024503 - Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care1991321452604 - Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies1,1731,01671277005 - Construction, Planning and the Built Environment147791056106 - Information and Communication Technology76483957411007 - Retail and Commercial Enterprise1,3241,0923863915 - Business, Administration and Law1403820Total 5,2174,8053,8944,472  Notes/caveats: These figures are single Service estimates based on management information which is not gathered for statistical purposes or subject to the same level of scrutiny as official statistics produced by Defence Statistics.Data has been provided by full Contract Year which runs from 1 August to 31 July.Standards are occupation-focussed, and Frameworks are qualification-focused.

Air Force: Apprentices

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have completed the RAF’s apprenticeship programme in each year since 2019; and in which sectors those apprenticeships were completed.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The below table details the number of people who have completed the Royal Air Force Apprenticeship programme and the sectors in which those apprenticeships have been completed.   201920202021202220232024Health, Public Services and Care1412784322017514Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies73856749447548784Information and Communication Technology13521922121824736Retail and Commercial Enterprise74118971261116Leisure, Travel and Tourism032721130Arts, Media, and Publishing321241 Data for 2024 is from 1 January 2024 to 8 March 2024

Navy: Apprentices

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sailors have completed the Navy’s apprenticeship programme in each year since 2019; and in which sectors those apprenticeships were completed.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The following table provides the requested information: Sector 2019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24 *Business, Administration and Law7552700Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies846578362801274Health, Public Services and Care414303245387106Information and Communication Technology364392831821Leisure, Travel and Tourism910000Retail and Commercial Enterprise110395411345Grand Total1,8031,3747511,319446*Information covers period to date.Information provided by Training Management Group, Directorate of Personnel and Training.

Northern Ireland: Terrorism

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department are in roles that support the provision of information to Troubles-era inquests in Northern Ireland.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department held roles that required them to provide information to Troubles-era inquests in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: There are 18 officials in roles within the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Directorate of Judicial Engagement Policy (DJEP) that support the provision of information to Troubles-era inquests in Northern Ireland as all or part of their duties. In addition, there are other teams across MOD providing specialist support to DJEP in providing information to inquests.  We do not hold information on historical staffing records and cannot provide figures in the format requested.

Defence Business Services

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason does Defence Business Services not publish its annual plan.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Defence Business Services is an integral part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), not an arm's length body (ALB). Its annual business plan is approved by the MOD Chief Operating Officer and, in common with many other annual business plans written by other parts of the Department, is for internal use.

HMS Prince of Wales: Salvage

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2024 to Question 16073 on HMS Prince of Wales: Salvage, whether artefacts salvaged illegally from HMS Prince of Wales and seized in Malaysia have been (a) seen and (b) inventoried by UK officials.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Investigations into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales by the Malaysian authorities are still ongoing, therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment further until they have been concluded.

Veterans UK: Legal Profession

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) lawyers and (b) paralegals are employed by Veterans UK as of 4 March 2024.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Veterans UK is the public facing name given to the administration and payment by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) of Armed Forces Pensions and the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Schemes, and Veterans Welfare Service. It does not exist as an executive agency or standalone entity and consequently does not employ any lawyers or paralegals.Legal advice and representation on Veterans related matters is provide by the MOD Legal Advisors and the Government Legal Department and I refer to the answer I gave to Question 1803, Tabled on 14 November 2023.The MOD Legal Advisors' lawyers - as Government Legal Department employees - do not distinctly record time involved on veteran-related matters and, therefore, the MOD cannot specify how much work was undertaken.

Defence Business Services: Serco

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish any (a) performance reports, (b) business plans, (c) annual reviews and (d) other documents relating to the (i) performance of and (ii) relationship between Defence Business Services and Serco in the years between 2011 and 2016.

Dr Andrew Murrison: There are no plans to publish material relating to the performance of Defence Business Services or the commercial relationship with SERCO during the period 2011-2016.

Army: Recruitment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has been made of trends in the level of army recruitment over the past five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Army continues to implement a number of measures to improve recruitment and regularly assesses the recruiting environment to ensure that demand can be met. January 2024 saw the highest number of monthly applications for Regular soldiers in over six years. Key points and trends can be found at the below link within the published Quarterly service personnel statistics: Quarterly service personnel statistics 1 January 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Ministry of Defence: Pay

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) Defence Equipment and Support received more than £100,000 a year from his Department in each financial year since 2019-20.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Question. I will write to her when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Military Attachés

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of British (a) embassies and (b) high commissions do not have a serving defence attaché.

James Heappey: There are 288 British Embassies and High Commissions maintained internationally. 136 of these are served by Defence Attachés (88 residential and 48 non-residential), leaving 152 without. Within these 136 locations, there are 21 High Commissions and 115 Embassies that are served by permanent Defence Attachés.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of RAF sorties over Yemen in 2024.

James Heappey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 March 2024 to Question 15797.Yemen: Military Intervention (docx, 28.1KB)

Contingencies Fund: Military Intervention

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much support the Government is providing for military operations in the Red Sea from the Contingencies Fund.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) requested funding from the Special Reserve for Red Sea, and other NSC endorsed military operations, be included in the Supplementary Estimates. The detailed breakdown is classified SECRET, however a summarised version of the Net Additional Costs of Military Operations will be published in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts (ARaC) in due course.

Israel: Air Force

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16902, whether the UK has provided (a) servicing and (b) other support for Israeli F-35 planes since 7 October 2023.

James Heappey: No.

Mozambique: Security

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is providing support to (a) Mozambique and (b) the Southern African Development Community to help restore security in Cabo Delgado.

James Heappey: The UK provides support to the Armed Forces of Mozambique (FADM) through our Resident Defence Adviser and Defence Section, which opened in July 2023. Our defence cooperation, including professional military education, defence policy and initial training, is delivered under the framework of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding. The UK has not provided support to the Southern African Development Community mission in Mozambique, although my recent visit to South Africa explored opportunities for doing so.

Somalia: Armed Forces

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on the training of Somalian armed forces in each of the last five years.

James Heappey: In each of the last five financial years (FY) the costs of Ministry of Defence support to the Somali Armed Forces amount to: FY 2023-24 - £9,748,133 (actuals until end of February 2024)FY 2022-23 - £14,315,675FY 2021-22 - £11,268,135FY 2020-21 - £11,051,788FY 2019-20 - £11,982,973

Department for Work and Pensions

Loans: Repayments

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the increase in the maximum repayment period on new budgeting advance loans starts is scheduled for December 2024.

Jo Churchill: Universal Credit is an iterative system and all changes to the system are carefully planned and scheduled.

Jobcentres: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Armed Forces Champions are employed in Jobcentres.

Mims Davies: The Department’s Armed Forces Champions model is based around champions being allocated to Jobcentre Plus Districts, rather than individual Jobcentres. This means that there is at least one Armed Forces Champion role allocated to each Jobcentre Plus District supported by a Group network, with resources in the network targeted where there are geographically particularly high levels of demand.  Staff RolesStaff in PostABM FTEArmed Forces Champion Lead1010Armed Forces Champions5040Grand Total6050  Source: DWP’s internal Activity Based Model (ABM) Notes:Data is correct as of 29th February.Data for Armed Forces Champion staff has been derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM).Staff in post and ABM FTE (Full Time Equivalent) have been rounded to the nearest 10.The number of staff that are Armed Forces Champions and Armed Forces Lead is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal department use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard. As the Department holds the information, we have released it.

Carer's Allowance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce legislative proposals to increase the amount of caring allowance available to people who care for more than one person.

Mims Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given 19 September 2023 to PQ199589 relating to England and Wales. Carer’s Allowance is a devolved matter in Scotland, and social security is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland.

Sickness Benefits

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of people claiming long-term sickness benefits.

Mims Davies: We are determined to have a welfare system that encourages and supports people into work, while providing a vital safety net for those who need it most. The Government has an ambitious programme of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work.Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the 2023 Spring Budget, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023, including doubling the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme and launching WorkWell in approximately 15 pilot areas.In the Health and Disability White Paper published alongside the 2023 Spring Budget we announced our intention to remove the Work Capability Assessment so that those who are able to can progress in or towards work, without the worry of being reassessed and losing their benefits.Ahead of these longer-term plans, from 2025 we are reforming the WCA to reflect new flexibilities in the labour market and greater employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions, whilst maintaining protections for those with the most significant conditions.We also announced our new Chance to Work Guarantee which will effectively remove the WCA for most claimants who have already been assessed without work-related requirements, removing the fear of reassessment and giving this group the confidence to try work, within existing permitted work rules in ESA and work allowance rules in UC.

Personal Independence Payment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expediting applications for Personal Independence Payments made by people with life-threatening conditions.

Mims Davies: DWP is committed to improving the way the benefit system supports people nearing the end of their life. There is no automatic entitlement to PIP in relation to a health condition - except in cases of people nearing the end of life. A PIP claimant is currently regarded as being end of life if they suffer from a progressive disease and their death in consequence of that disease can reasonably be expected within 12 months. Special considerations apply to such claimants. Currently, claims are processed within 3 days on average. In the longer term, the Health Transformation Programme will transform the entire PIP service to simplify and shorten the application process for all PIP claimants, including those with life-threatening conditions.

State Retirement Pensions: Disability

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of people with disabilities in the UK that (a) stopped receiving a mobility allowance and (b) lost access to the Motability Scheme as a result of reaching state pension age in 2023.

Mims Davies: Claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) before reaching state pension age, are still entitled to their award after reaching state pension age. No claimant over state pension age will lose their mobility component or access to the Motability scheme providing they continue to meet the qualifying conditions of the benefit. During 2022-23, an average of 226,000 PIP claimants of pension age received the enhanced mobility award in England & Wales. Any claimant in receipt of enhanced rate mobility can choose to exchange this for a lease on a Motability car, powered wheelchair or scooter. We do not hold data on how many PIP claimants over state pension age choose to use the Motability scheme.

Housing Benefit

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on housing benefits in the last financial year; and how much of that was spent on housing provided by (a) local authorities, (b) other social housing providers and (c) private sector landlords.

Mims Davies: In 2022/23 the Department spent £28.97 billion on Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Housing Element combined. £15.00 billion was spent on Housing Benefit and £13.97 billion was spent on Universal Credit Housing Element. The quoted Housing Benefit expenditure excludes expenditure funded by Local Authorities.  Housing Benefit expenditure by tenure in 2022/23: £4.05 billion spent on Local Authority accommodation.£7.17 billion spent on accommodation provided by Registered Social Landlords.£3.78 billion spent on private rented sector accommodation. Universal Credit Housing Element expenditure by tenure in 2022/23: £7.20 billion spent on social rented sector accommodation. The available data does not allow us to breakdown expenditure on social rented sector into accommodation provided by (a) local authorities and (b) other social housing providers.Available data does not allow us to split out expenditure on accommodation provided by (b) other social housing providers.£5.95 billion spent on private rented sector accommodation.£0.83 billion spent on other/unknown tenancy types. The expenditure figures include only amounts subsidised by the Department for Work and Pension and do not include housing expenditure funded by local authorities.Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Menopause: Sick Leave

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the introduction of a Sickness absence recording tool (SART) code for menopause.

Mims Davies: The Government believes it is vital that employers support their workers affected by symptoms of the menopause and we are raising awareness of this alongside the Government’s Menopause Employment Champion. It is important for individual businesses to decide how to record staff absences and support their own workers. The Government has shared guidance and best practice on the Menopause Resources Hub on the Help to Grow portal.

Social Security Benefits

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the report entitled Beneath the trends: A detailed look at the issues facing claimants going through managed migration, published by the Child Poverty Action Group on 13 February 2024.

Jo Churchill: There is no evidence to suggest slowing down Move to UC is necessary. We have recently published our latest findings; Move to Universal Credit – insight on Tax Credit migrations and initial Discovery activity for wider benefit cohorts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), further research is planned to improve our understanding of the service we deliver, to better support those transitioning to UC under managed migration.

Welfare Tax Credits

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the number and proportion of tax credit claimants that have closed a claim rather than migrate to Universal Credit in each of the last three years.

Jo Churchill: The requested information and can be found in Table 2 here: Completing the move to Universal Credit: Statistics related to the move of households claiming TaxCredits and DWP Benefits to Universal Credit: data to end of December 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and in Annex A: Completing the move to Universal Credit: Learning from the Discovery Phase - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Universal Credit

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Universal Credit claimants have received a budgeting advance in each of the last three years.

Jo Churchill: Table 1 below provides the number and proportion of Universal Credit households who received a Budgeting Advance in each of the last three years. YearNumber of Universal Credit households who received a Budgeting AdvanceProportion of Universal Credit households who received a Budgeting AdvanceDec 2020 - Nov 20211,045,00018%Dec 2021 - Nov 20221,026,00018%Dec 2022 - Nov 20231,092,00018% Notes:1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.2. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.3. Data up to November 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the under-occupancy penalty during the preparation of the Spring Budget.

Paul Maynard: No assessment has been made. The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy applies to claims for housing support where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is considered to have more bedrooms than the household requires. The policy helps encourage mobility within the social rented sector to make better use of the existing social housing stock and strengthens work-incentives. There are no plans to abolish this policy and easements are available to support disabled people and carers, the families of disabled children, foster carers, parents who adopt, parents of service personnel and people who have suffered a bereavement. The deduction does not apply to pensioners in receipt of Housing Benefit. For individuals who may require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) may be available. DHP payments are entirely at the discretion of the local authority and since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities.

State Retirement Pensions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the state pension age will increase to (a) 67 in 2026-28 and (b) 68 in 2044-46.

Paul Maynard: The increase to age 67 in 2026-2028 will continue as set out in Pensions Act 2014. Due to uncertainties in relation to life expectancy data, labour markets and the public finances, the Government committed to undertake a further State Pension age review within two years of the next Parliament to consider the appropriateness of the rules on the State Pension age rise to 68 in 2044-46. Full details of the Governments conclusions were published in the State Pension age Review 2023 (Section 1.4) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-age-review-2023-government-report/state-pension-age-review-2023.

State Retirement Pensions: Poverty

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of increasing the state pension age to (a) 67 in 2026-28 and (b) 68 in 2044-46 on levels of pensioner poverty.

Paul Maynard: The Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty. In 2021/22 there were 200 thousand fewer pensioners in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10. As evaluations of the impacts of State Pension age rises have been retrospective it is not possible to robustly and comparably estimate future impacts of changes in State Pension age on pensioner poverty levels. The March 2023 State Pension age Review published our analysis of the impact of previous SPa changes. This shows the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 led to a temporary increase in the absolute poverty rate for 65-year-olds with those affected lifted out of poverty once their new State Pension age was reached. The analysis also found positive employment effects from increasing the State Pension age from 65 to 66, as people responded by working longer and on average earned more than if they had retired and claimed State Pension. State Pension age Review 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Protection Fund

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Q339 of the evidence given by the Minister for Pensions to the Work and Pensions Committee on 10 January 2024, HC144, whether the Minister has had recent discussions with representatives of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) on indexation of pre-1997 contributions; and when he next plans to meet with PPF representatives.

Paul Maynard: I meet regularly with the Pensions Protection Fund and have discussed pre-97 Pensions Protection Fund indexation with them. The most recent meeting was on 7th March 2024.

State Retirement Pensions: Women

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of publishing compensation scheme proposals for the women affected by the state pension age changes.

Paul Maynard: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation on State Pension age communications is ongoing and Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.The Department is cooperating fully with the Ombudsman’s investigation.

Department for Work and Pensions: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

Paul Maynard: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Young People

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential correlation between poverty levels and the lower standard allowance of Universal Credit for those people under 25.

Jo Churchill: No such assessment has been made.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has received recent representations from the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers on safety risks in the offshore helicopter supply chain.

Paul Maynard: The responsibility for safety risks in the offshore helicopter supply chain lies with the Civil Aviation Authority. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is not aware that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has received recent representations from the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers on this matter.

Department for Work and Pensions: Defamation

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.

Paul Maynard: We are unable to provide the information requested. As reflected in paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, ‘The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority’. The Law Officers’ Convention, reflected in paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, is a long-standing convention observed by successive governments. It exists to preserve the ability of ministers to seek the advice of the Law Officers and not to be disadvantaged by disclosing when they have done so, and what advice they received.

State Retirement Pensions: Underpayments

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice exercise to identify people who have been underpaid State Pension, how many people identified as having received an underpayment have deceased, by each category of error; in how many of those cases his Department (a) has been unable to identify an heir and (b) has sent a letter to an heir and (i) has not received a response and (ii) has received a response but payment has not yet been made; and what steps his Department is taking to (A) identify heirs and (B) follow up cases where no response has been received to an initial contact letter.

Paul Maynard: This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained. The Department uses all available resources to identify heirs. In the instance when a response is not received for the initial contact letter, we issue further letters inviting the heir to contact DWP. The Department will be publishing its progress with the State Pension Underpayment Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) exercises to the end of February 2024 before the end of March 2024.

Pension Funds

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, published on 6 March 2024, if he will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how a transferrable pension fund would work.

Paul Maynard: The Government has recently concluded a call for evidence to understand the considerations, merits and impacts of a lifetime pension provider model. In his Spring Budget, the Chancellor confirmed our commitment to explore a Lifetime Provider model. My Officials will undertake further analysis and engagement with industry, employers and employees to better understand if this measure would improve outcomes for savers. I am happy to meet any member of Parliament to discuss this issue.

Universal Credit

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the National Audit Office report entitled Progress in implementing Universal Credit, published on 27 February 2024, HC 552.

Jo Churchill: The Department welcomes the National Audit Office report which reflects the positive progress made by the programme implementing Universal Credit (UC).The Department is assured that the recommendations made by the National Audit Office reflect the activities already in place within the UC Programme to effectively deliver Move to UC.

Women against State Pension Inequality

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to meet with representatives from the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.

Paul Maynard: There are currently no plans to meet with WASPI representatives. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation on State Pension age communications is ongoing. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”. The Department is cooperating fully with the Ombudsman in their investigation.

Department for Work and Pensions: Domestic Visits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

Paul Maynard: The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals). But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Civil Servants: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13494 on Civil Servants: Veterans, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the Service Leavers’ Adjustment Passport on veterans’ employment outcomes.

Mims Davies: The Service Leavers Adjustments Passport is a voluntary tool to support Armed Forces Service Leavers with the transition into Civilian Employment. It is also available to anyone who has served to access at any time in the future. We have no plans to track employment outcomes specifically as part of the Service Leavers Adjustments Passport as there are numerous factors that influence veteran employment outcomes and it would be difficult to effectively isolate the impact of a single measure.

Universal Credit: Armed Forces

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2024 to Question 14790 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the specific branches of the armed forces in which Universal Credit claimants (a) are serving and (b) have served.

Mims Davies: No such assessment has been made for the reasons set out in the response to the previous answered PQ14790.

Child Benefit

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State Work and Pensions, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of lifting the two child benefit cap during the preparation of the Spring Budget.

Jo Churchill: There are no plans to change the existing policy.

Universal Credit

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons that people on Universal Credit may require budgeting advance loans.

Jo Churchill: No formal assessment has been made.

Poverty: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland on trends in the number of children living in households in relative poverty in that region.

Jo Churchill: DWP officials regularly meet with colleagues at the Department for Communities and the meetings cover a broad range of topics, including poverty. Absolute poverty is the government’s preferred measure as the poverty line is fixed in real terms so is not affected by overall median income. In the three years up to 2021/22 (excluding 2020/21), 17% of children in Northern Ireland were in absolute poverty after housing costs compared to 26% in the three years up to 2009/10.

Universal Credit: Armed Forces

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3093 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, whether his Department has made an assessment of the circumstances affecting whether armed forces personnel become eligible for Universal Credit.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3093 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, whether his Department has assessed the reasons for why the number of veterans claiming Universal Credit increased between May and July 2023.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3093 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, if he will make an estimate of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are veterans, but who don’t declare their veteran status.

Mims Davies: No estimate has been made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are veterans, but who do not declare their veteran status. UC claimants are asked about their armed forces status when declaring or reporting changes in their work and earnings and UC agents are also able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone. This Government believes it is important to identify veterans and serving personnel, so we can ensure they can get all the help and support they need. For more information, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ3093, where the Department explained the current progress in identifying such claimants. No assessment has been made of reasons for any increase, the number of UC claimants recorded as previously served or currently serving has been stable since June 2023. Serving armed forces personnel claiming Universal Credit will be no different to other UC claimants.

Home Office

Slavery

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of sections 22-29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 on victims of modern slavery receiving support via the National Referral Mechanism.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish assessments of facilities that will accommodate potential victims of modern slavery ineligible for support under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will consult with service providers for the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract to ensure that implementation of sections 22-29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 will be trauma informed.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his planned timetable is for the implementation of sections 22-29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023.

Michael Tomlinson: The Home Office published the Illegal Migration Bill (IMB) Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) on 10 May 2023. We are committed to taking the steps to ensure any potential impacts identified are appropriately mitigated when implementing the policy.Where an individual has not made a protection claim and is granted immigration bail, support may be available under Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016.The Government is consulting with operational partners to implement sections 22 – 29 of the IMA. Guidance is under development which will support the operation of provisions in the IMA, once commenced.

Visas

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of visa applicants that used the (a) priority and (b) super priority service were (i) granted a visa and (ii) refunded due to missed deadlines in each of the last five years.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office publishes data on Entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release).Data on visa applicants using the Priority and Super Priority services can be found in VSI_02 of the Visa and Citizenship Transparency data (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk.) The latest data relates to Q4 2023 (October to December).Information on the number of applicants refunded due to missed deadlines is not published or held in a reportable format.

Migrant Workers: Public Sector

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the average cost to the public purse of the (a) capital set-up and (b) revenue for the first five years for the provision of (i) a home, (ii) NHS care, (iii) school places and (iv) other public services for migrants paid below the national average wage.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has previously estimated the cost of migrants to the UK in terms of NHS care, education and social services (welfare) payments. This analysis did not consider different earnings thresholds, nor did it consider capital and revenue costs of housing, which would be outside the Home Office’s remit. Home Office analysis can be found in table A4.2 in the Impact Assessment “The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020”: The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 (legislation.gov.uk).

Israel: Hamas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) other police forces on the cost to the public purse of policing protests relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict since October 2023.

Chris Philp: The Home Secretary and Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Fire speak to chief constables on an ongoing basis on a range of subjects. As set out in the Home Affairs Select Committee’s recent report, NPCC and MPS leaders indicate that the costs of the policing Israel-Hamas-related protests was at least £25million between 7 October and 17 December. However, this figure includes the costs of community patrols, engagement and investigations that have taken place in efforts to tackle issues related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas-related conflict.While we expect all police forces to hold reasonable levels of contingency funding for unplanned operations, it is open to Police and Crime Commissioners and their equivalents to request additional funding through the Police Special Grant. Criteria and guidance are published on gov.uk Special grant guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). It should be noted that the Metropolitan Police has the highest level of officers and funding per capita of all forces in England and Wales and a third more funding than similar areas like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.

Home Office: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

Chris Philp: All Home Office staff considered for appointment undergo stringent pre-employment and security checks before taking up post.We recognise the contribution that former offenders can make to our workforce, however, in deciding whether to make an appointment we would consider a range of factors, including the nature of the position and the circumstances of the offence. However, to determine those members of staff with a criminal conviction in our current workforce can only be obtained with disproportionate effort.

Visas: Gaza

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason he has not established a family reunification visa scheme for people in Gaza.

Tom Pursglove: The Government recognises that some people impacted by the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories may wish to join family in the UK. The Government currently has no plans to introduce bespoke arrangements for people arriving from the region who do not hold permission to come to the UK. Palestinians who wish to join family members in the UK must do so via the existing range of routes available. The Government allows individuals with protection status in the UK to sponsor their partner or children to join them in the UK through our refugee family reunion policy, provided they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin to seek protection. There are additional safe and legal routes for people to come to the UK should they wish to join family members here, work or study. They would need to meet the requirements of the relevant Immigration Rule under which they were applying to qualify for a visa. The Home Office has not considered establishing a separate resettlement route for Palestinians to come to the UK. Since 2015, over half a million people have been offered safe and legal routes into the UK.

Migrant Workers: Pay

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his planned timetable is for the Migration Advisory Committee to complete the rapid review of the Immigration Salary List.

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his planned timetable is for the publication of guidance for employers on the operation of the Immigration Salary List.

Tom Pursglove: The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its rapid review on 23 February. The Government intends to lay rules in Parliament on 14 March to enact changes to the Immigration Salary List, along with the other changes announced by the Government on 4 December 2023 to reduce net migration. Guidance relating to these changes will be published when the rules come into force on 4 April.

Home Office: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people work in his Department's equality, diversity and well-being team.

Chris Philp: There are 29 members of staff working in the central Equality, Diversity and Wellbeing Team based on headcount, this represents 0.06% of the total staff working for the Home Office.

Anti-social Behaviour

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the delivery of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan.

Chris Philp: We are making good progress on implementation of the Government’s Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan that was published in March 2023. We have banned nitrous oxide, increased fines for fly-tipping, littering and graffiti, and over 80,000 hours of uniformed patrols have been undertaken, targeting areas blighted by anti-social behaviour in 10 police force areas.From 1st April we will be providing funding of £66m to every police force in England and Wales to support a hotspot enforcement approach for both anti-social behaviour and serious violence across England and Wales from April onwards.We are strengthening police and local authority powers to tackle anti-social behaviour through a number of measures in the Criminal Justice Bill.

Burglary

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with police forces on the pledge that a police officer will attend every burgled home.

Chris Philp: The Crime Survey for England and Wales data shows a 56% fall in domestic burglaries when comparing the year ending September 2023 with year ending March 2010. This is clearly good news; however, we recognise the impact domestic burglary can have on individuals and communities and we are committed to tackling and preventing this crime.The public rightly expects that the police will visit them when a home burglary has been committed, which is why we welcome the announcement made by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on 8 June that all 43 police forces in England and Wales have been implementing this attendance policy since March 2023. https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-now-attending-scene-of-every-home-burglaryThe police commitment to attend home burglaries is supported by specific College of Policing good practice guidance on conducting residential burglary investigations: https://www.college.police.uk/guidance/residential-burglary.We continue to engage with the NPCC and the police on tackling burglary through an array of different forums, including the Residential Burglary Taskforce and the National Policing Board. We will be working with police leaders to ensure forces are making their attendance data available to the public.

Anti-social Behaviour

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to provide additional (a) training and (b) resources to police forces to help tackle neighbourhood disputes.

Chris Philp: Decisions about local policing, are for operationally independent Chief Constables. They are best placed to use their local knowledge and experience to serve local communities, including incidents such as neighbourhood disputes where there is a need for the police to be involved.Democratically elected PCCs, or mayors with these functions, are responsible for holding Chief Constables to account for their running of the force.As set out at the National Policing Board on 31 January, we do however, expect Chief Constables and PCCs to put neighbourhoods at the heart of local policing plans. More generally, the Government is committed to giving the police the resources they need.We have delivered our commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers, with over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, which is higher than the previous peak before the Police Uplift Programme in March 2010.We also confirmed in January a total police funding settlement of up to £18.4 billion in 2024-25, an increase of up to £842.9 million when compared to 2023-24.

National Vehicle Crime Working Group

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2024 to Question 15519 on Cars: Theft, when the National Vehicle Crime Working Group last met.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the membership of the National Vehicle Crime Working Group.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March to Question 15519 on Cars: Theft, if he has met with the National Vehicle Crime Working Group since November 2023.

Chris Philp: The Crime survey of England & Wales for year ending September 2023 shows that vehicle related offences since March 2010 has reduced by 39%.The National Vehicle Crime Working Group is a National Police Chief’s Council led group which is chaired ACC Jenny Sims. The group takes forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce vehicle crime nationally. The group includes representatives from police forces, vehicle manufacturers, Thatcham Research, the insurance industry, and relevant Government departments.The National Vehicle Crime Working Group last met on 29th June 2023, and I am due to join the next meeting, scheduled to take place on 20th March.Furthermore, in November 2023, I hosted a roundtable with vehicle manufacturers and law enforcement to discuss vehicle security.

Police

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the cumulative number of years of experience held by all police officers in (a) 2010 and (b) 2024.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the length of service of police officers employed within the police service in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.Information on the length of service of police officers employed in England and Wales has been published since 2016 and can be found in Table JL5 in the data tables accompanying each publication.Data for as at 31 March 2024 will be published in July 2024 as part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.We delivered our commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers. There are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, higher than the previous peak before the Police Uplift Programme, in March 2010.

Immigration: Housing

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to provide homes to people granted leave to remain once their funded accommodation ends; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of extending the period of time before which such accommodation needs to be vacated on the supply of social housing.

Tom Pursglove: We work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.We are working with our partners, including local authorities, to provide timely notification of key events that impact them. We are working with our SMP to facilitate regional sessions with councils and to share data.

UK Border Force: Postal Services

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incoming parcels from overseas that were checked by the Border Force were (a) damaged and (b) lost in each of the last 12 months.

Tom Pursglove: Border Force does not hold the information in an easily accessible format, therefore the information requested cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.

Home Office: Staff

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department work on policy relating to immigration as of 4 March 2024.

Tom Pursglove: Migration and Borders Group (MBG) provides the immigration policy advice for the Home Office. The most recent published data for the group as a whole in the Home Office Accounts for 2022-23 show 910 full time equivalent (FTE) working in MBG. Not all of those FTE are specifically part of the policy profession but they will contribute to the development of Home Office immigration policy. Further information will be available in the Home Office 2023-24 accounts, which will be published shortly.

Asylum: Housing

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to address the findings of the report entitled A re-inspection of the use of hotels for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, published by his Department in February 2024.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report entitled A re-inspection of the use of hotels for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, published by his Department in February 2024, what steps he is taking to ensure the (a) safety and (b) welfare of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the UK.

Tom Pursglove: Since the two ICIBI inspections in 2022 and 2023, the Home Office has taken positive steps with our partners which has resulted in the closure of all 7 hotels for UAS children. The Home Office has provided details of its formal response to the recommendations and had already progressed activity linked to those recommendations prior to the hotels closing.On both occasions of inspection, the ICIBI found that the children accommodated at the interim hotels reported they felt ‘happy and safe’ and spoke well of the staff caring for them.

Asylum: Greater Manchester

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of notices given to asylum seekers to leave accommodation provided by his Department on trends in the level of demand for local government homelessness services in Greater Manchester.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with local councils in Greater Manchester on the notice period given by accommodation providers when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with local councils in Greater Manchester on the potential availability of housing for refugees who have reached the end of their move-on period.

Tom Pursglove: Since September 2023, all individuals receive a minimum of 28 days’ support (including accommodation) after having been issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). There are no current plans to extend the 28 days prescribed in legislation due to the huge pressures on the asylum system.We offer move on support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.We work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.We are working with our partners, including local authorities, to provide timely notification of key events that impact them. We are working with our Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) to facilitate regional sessions with councils and to share data.

Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Defamation

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19December2019.

Anthony Browne: The Ministerial Code also states, at paragraph 2.13: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.” Paragraph 2.13 covers whether a minister has notified the Law Officers of a personal role in litigation.

Department for Transport: Written Questions

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to Question 15694 on Department for Transport: DP World and P&O Ferries ,tabled by the Hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley on 26 February 2024 for answer on 29 February 2024.

Guy Opperman: A response to PQ 15694 was provided on 8 March 2024.

Department for Transport: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

Anthony Browne: All employees of the Department are subject to appropriate levels of pre-employment checks and/or security clearance. As you will be aware, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 allows certain eligible convictions or cautions to become “spent” after a specified period of time.

Department for Transport; Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the document entitled Draft terms of reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what updates his Department has provided on relevant developments in its area of work to that group since 2019.

Anthony Browne: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 1 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

Regional Airports: Safety

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase safety at regional airports.

Anthony Browne: Most airport operators are either in the commercial private sector or are public/private partnerships which operate commercially. As such, it is for airports to ensure they adhere to regulations and standards relating to safety and security. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issues either an aerodrome licence or aerodrome certificate to regional aerodromes on the basis that the aerodrome, and its operation, meets the licencing/certification criteria. The CAA establishes an oversight programme for each licensed/certificated aerodrome in which the continued compliance with the regulatory requirements is verified. Additionally, the aerodrome operator is required to have a safety management system, the effectiveness of which falls within the scope of the CAA oversight Programme. These UK regulations are developed and implemented to adhere to and go beyond the minimum international safety Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Department for Transport: Domestic Visits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

Anthony Browne: The Government publishes, on GOV.UK, details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals). As has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Darlington Borough Council on the adequacy of the provision of on-street charging for electric vehicles in Darlington.

Anthony Browne: In March 2023, the Department wrote to all tier one local authorities in England to announce the launch of the £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. This Fund will enable them to transform the availability of charging infrastructure for drivers without off-street parking in their area. Tees Valley Combined Authority – which includes Darlington Borough Council – has been allocated £6.6 million in capital funding, and £570,000 in capability funding to recruit dedicated in-house expertise, through the LEVI Fund. Last year, the LEVI Support Body led communication with local authority applicants, hosted LEVI roadshows across England and developed an EV officer training course to engage, educate and equip those involved in the planning and deployment of EV infrastructure. The Department and the LEVI Support Body will continue to offer expert advice and support to local authorities, including Tees Valley Combined Authority, throughout the Fund’s timeline.

Helicopters: North Sea

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a recent assessment of the (a) resilience and (b) safety of helicopter transport operations in the North Sea.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to (a) request data from operators of helicopter transport services in the offshore oil and gas sector on their annual flying hours between 2018 and 4 March 2024 and (b) place copies of that information in the Library.

Anthony Browne: The Government is committed to ensuring that North Sea helicopter flying is as safe as possible. In 2014, the CAA published a comprehensive review of the safety of offshore helicopter operations. The Review examined the risks to helicopter operations to support the oil and gas industries in and around the North Sea. It identified a wide range of opportunities to improve the safety of those operations and to increase the chances of passengers and crew surviving an accident. As the UK’s aviation safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) continues to monitor all aspects of the operations of offshore helicopter companies and any risks to safe operation through its ongoing programme of safety oversight - which includes implementation of the review findings and monitoring data from operators. It is the role of the CAA as the independent regulator to collect safety data, it is not for the Department to do so.

Out of Area Treatment: Travel

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with (a) the Department for Health and Social Care, (b) the Northern Ireland Office, (c) the Scotland Office and (d) the Wales Office on providing financial support for (i) cancer patients aged up to 25 and (ii) their families undertaking cross-border travel within the UK to receive treatment.

Anthony Browne: Ministers from the Department for Transport have not engaged with the Department for Health and Social Care or the Territorial Offices listed on the two matters listed above.

Railways: Birmingham and Greater Manchester

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to use funds saved by the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2f to tackle problems on rail links between Birmingham and Manchester.

Huw Merriman: As announced in the Network North command paper, every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North; every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands; and the full £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country. Network North provided £500m to improve rail capacity North of Birmingham and work is ongoing to develop value for money interventions using these funds. This includes upgrades around Handsacre, where the HS2 line joins the West Coast Mainline, and other potential enhancements on the network.

North Wales Coast Line: Electrification

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish a timetable for the development of the (a) strategic outline case, (b) outline business case and (c) full business case for the electrification of the North Wales Main Line.

Huw Merriman: We are working closely with the rail industry to develop the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. We are in the early stages of establishing the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme, including the costs and programme for development and delivery. We will share further information when that work is complete.

Roads: Accidents

Vicky Ford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish (a) available data from the Government-sponsored e-scooter trials on the (i) number and (ii) number per million kilometers travelled of people killed or seriously injured in e-scooter incidents and (b) equivalent figures for (A) bicycles, (B) legally registered powered two wheel motorbikes, (C) passenger cars and (D) commercial vehicles; and whether he holds such data for incidents involving e-scooters not included in the trials.

Anthony Browne: Out of millions of trips completed since e-scooter trials began, the vast majority of journeys have been completed safely.From 2020, DfT has been monitoring the frequency of casualties involving e-scooters. The majority of DfT reported road casualty statistics are based on STATS19 data, the system through which the police report road casualties. STATS19 collects data on e-scooter casualties, including those using private scooters, with data published regularly in e-scooter casualty factsheets. The most recent e-scooter factsheet can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-e-scooter-factsheet-year-ending-june-2023/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-e-scooter-factsheet-year-ending-june-2023.In addition, the Department routinely publishes data on casualties in reported road collisions using all other modes of road transport based upon data provided by police forces via the STATS19 system, including figures for bicycles, motorcycles, cars, HGVs and LGVs. A comparison of the casualty rates for different modes of travel can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/657c4a0983ba380013e1b610/ras0203.ods. Data from STATS19 (2022) found the severity of injuries for e-scooters and pedal cycles to be broadly similar. The most common injuries across both modes were abrasions, sprains, and bruising.

Seafarers' Charter

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Whether he has had recent discussions with (a) P&O Ferries and (b) other members of the UK Chamber of Shipping on the Seafarers’ Charter.

Guy Opperman: The Secretary of State has not had recent discussions with P&O Ferries or other members of the UK Chamber of Shipping on the Seafarers’ Charter. However, officials regularly engage with operators who have committed to the Seafarers’ Charter, as well as other members of the UK Chamber of Shipping. Officials only engage with P&O Ferries regarding operational matters, such as safety and security.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Pornography Review

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Angiolini Inquiry Part 1 report, published in February 2024, when she plans to publish the findings of her Department's review entitled Pornography Regulation, Legislation and Enforcement, published on 11 January 2024; and whether that review will address the societal impact of violent and extreme pornography.

Saqib Bhatti: The Independent Pornography Review will involve a comprehensive assessment of the impact of pornography on viewers and wider society, including the impact of violent and extreme pornography, identifying any links to violence against women and girls. It will also review how effective current legislation, regulation, and law enforcement are in tackling extreme pornographic content. The review is being led by an independent lead reviewer, Baroness Gabby Bertin, who oversees the delivery of the review and the final report and recommendations. The independent review’s Terms of Reference state that it aims to conclude by Summer 2024.

Telephone Systems

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with BT on the duration of the pause in its rollout of the digital switchover for elderly and vulnerable customers.

Julia Lopez: When the UK’s major Communication Providers signed the Charter of Commitments in December 2023, they committed to pausing non-voluntary migrations of all customers until they had full confidence that they are taking all possible steps to protect vulnerable people through the migration process. As a result, BT have currently paused all non-voluntary migrations.BT has not yet indicated when they will resume the practice of non-voluntary migrations. This is a commercial decision for BT to make, and we expect them to notify us when they intend to resume non-voluntary migrations. DSIT Ministers and officials are meeting with BT regularly to discuss the progress of the migration.Government and Ofcom are engaging with all signatories of the Charter of Commitments to monitor their approach to the PSTN migration. This includes asking them whether they conduct non-voluntary migration programmes and what protections they have in place for vulnerable customers.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Impact Assessments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department produces equality impact assessments for its plans and strategies.

Andrew Griffith: In accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty, DSIT is committed to ensuring that equality considerations are integral to its operational and strategic decision-making processes.

Science and Technology: Marketing

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is engaging with (a) local authorities and (b) mayoral combined authorities on (i) branding and (ii) promotion of (A) science, (B) technology and (C) innovation.

Andrew Griffith: As part of the government’s devolution deals, DSIT is committed to working with Mayoral Combined Authorities to strengthen collaboration on science, innovation and technology.Through the Innovation Accelerator programme, DSIT with UKRI and DBT are championing the UK’s science, technology and innovation offer and promoting regionally-led activities in Glasgow, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.Great campaigns promote UK export or investment opportunities. The GREAT.gov.uk website provides support for UK companies, overseas buyers and overseas investors into the UK for a broad range of sectors including science and technology.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many civil servants in her Department have a criminal conviction.

Andrew Griffith: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold central records of criminal convictions. When joining the department all candidates undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check which checks for unspent criminal convictions. Where a candidate does have unspent criminal convictions, these are shared with the individual vacancy holder for them to consider as this is likely to have impact on individuals’ suitability for the role. The department is looking at how it can engage with the across government Going Forward into Employment (GFIE) schemes, including for prison leavers.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Freedom of Information

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of freedom of information requests to her Department were replied to within the 20 working day response target in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Andrew Griffith: Data on the timeliness of the Department’s responses to Freedom of Information requests is published quarterly at gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Domestic Visits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

Andrew Griffith: The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (vias, accommodation, meals).

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is taking steps to encourage UK Research and Innovation to support pandemic preparedness.

Andrew Griffith: Yes.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Research

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what research the Medical Research Council is funding on the (a) causes and (b) treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support research into (a) understanding, (b) treating and (c) curing Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how the Government plans to allocate funding for research into (a) myalgic encephalomyelitis and (b) other post-viral diseases.

Andrew Griffith: Medical Research Council (MRC) has invested in research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, awarding £6.6m in this area since 2012. This includes through DecodeME, the world’s largest ME/CSF study, via strategic co-funding with the National Institute of Health and Care Research, which aims to find genetic factors to better understand ME/CFS disease pathways and unlock future treatment pathways. We continue to encourage high-quality proposals across our funding opportunities, maintaining an open highlight notice to encourage ME/CFS research. MRC also co-funded the ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership to identify research priorities for ME/CFS, led by people with ME/CFS, their carers and clinicians, and facilitated by Action for M.E.

Science and Technology: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the potential relationship of the financial sustainability of higher education institutions and delivery of the UK Science and Technology Framework ambitions.

Andrew Griffith: DSIT works closely with the Department for Education, UK Research and Innovation and other research funders to understand the factors that affect the financial sustainability of research and the impact that this might have on the realisation of those ambitions.

Life Sciences: Technology Transfer

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to improve the life sciences translation process.

Andrew Griffith: The Government supports translational research in life sciences in several ways. MRC’s translational research group supports research through partnerships with other funders and major higher education institutions and through dedicated funding schemes. DSIT also co-funds the Health Innovation Network (HIN), alongside the Department of Health and Social Care. The network was established to help adoption and spread of innovation at pace and scale to improve health outcomes and generate economic growth. The Network connects the NHS, academic organisations, local authorities, charities and industry to facilitate change across health and social care economies, with a focus on improving outcomes for patients.

Industry: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support economic sector clusters to bid for funding into research and development.

Andrew Griffith: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology provides targeted support for innovation clusters across the UK. This includes programmes to build on local innovation strengths, such as Innovate UK’s £80 million investment in 11 Innovation Launchpads, co-designed with local leaders, to support clusters across the UK to grow. Innovate UK’s regional managers also support clusters by working closely with local leadership bodies to identify their strengths, build connections between national and local businesses, and provide guidance on bids for innovation support.

BioYorkshire: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding UK Research and Innovation has (a) allocated and (b) provided to BioYorkshire in the last 12 months.

Andrew Griffith: As agreed in the Devolution Deal, UKRI, including Innovate UK, will work with the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and Mayor when elected to consider how to bring together different research and innovation funding streams and opportunities across the region to support the BioYorkshire initiative. UKRI has given a range of funding to partners involved with this initiative, including through its formula-based block grants to universities.

Research: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department has provided to research projects based in (a) York, (b) Yorkshire and (c) the UK in the last 12 months.

Andrew Griffith: This government is investing record amounts in R&D across the UK, rising to £20 billion per annum by 2024-25. Between January 2023 and January 2024, over £231 million was awarded to organisations based in Yorkshire and The Humber by UKRI. Awards to the York area were in excess of £35 million.

Advanced Research and Invention Agency

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has plans to measure the impact of the Advanced Research and Innovation Agency.

Andrew Griffith: ARIA was established to focus on projects with the potential to produce transformative technological change with long-term benefits, and was set up as a flagship of the government’s agenda to cut bureaucracy in research. ARIA has maximum autonomy over its research and project choice, its procedures and its institutional culture. ARIA will be responsible for evaluating the impact of its programmes. As set out in ARIA’s Framework Agreement, ARIA’s performance shall be formally reviewed after 10 years of operations.

Food: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 5.98 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, published on 6 March 2024, by what process the £5 million for an agri-food Launchpad in mid and north Wales will be allocated; and what the criteria for funding will be.

Andrew Griffith: Innovate UK, Ceredigion County Council and the Welsh Government will now work in partnership to lead the design of bespoke competitive rounds of funding for the new Agri-Food Launchpad. This will allow businesses to apply for a share of the funding to undertake projects in the Mid and North Wales agri-food cluster. Further eligibility details will be published when the competition is launched.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Business Plans

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what her Department's planned timescale is for responding to the report entitled Independent review of the DSIT business case and approvals process, published in February 2024.

Andrew Griffith: The Government welcomes David Willetts’ report and is considering the recommendations, including options for implementation. We are planning to publish a response before the end of April.

Research: Skilled Workers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the planned rise in the salary threshold for a skilled worker visa on UK research and development.

Andrew Griffith: In December 2023, the Government announced a new package of measures to curb immigration abuse and further reduce net migration. DSIT will continue to work with the Home Office on the details of the measures and make ongoing assessments of the effects on researchers, scientists and innovators. The Government is committed to attracting and retaining the talent needed to ensure the UK remains at the cutting edge of research, development and innovation (RDI). Our Science and Technology Framework, updated in February, sets out how we will build a skilled workforce for tomorrow’s industries.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Arts: Digital Technology

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps with her international counterparts to support the digital creative arts.

Julia Lopez: The Government has set out a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and add another 1 million jobs by 2030. This builds on our record of introducing tax reliefs across the creative industries, including the digital creative arts.In order to deliver this, in the Creative Industries Sector Vision we set out a focus on increasing exports. We are therefore taking steps to ensure that the UK’s trade policy reflects industry priorities and delivers access to priority markets. In addition to maximising creative exports, we have committed to increasing creative industries’ international exposure and strengthening global cultural relationships to both unlock these opportunities and tackle key issues facing our creative sectors.DCMS is working closely with the British Council and the UK cultural sector to promote our digital creative arts internationally. The UK’s leadership in this area is commended by our international counterparts, as well as in multilateral fora such as the G7 and G20.We also work with international counterparts on a number of fronts to support the creation of a pipeline of talent in the digital arts, including through funding internationally-focused education and skills programmes that foster collaboration across continents and build on our existing relationships overseas. For example, the National Film and Television School (NFTS) programme, Inside Pictures, is supported by DCMS and enables high potential, mid-career TV and film specialists to continue their professional development through an international training programme operating in both London and LA.DCMS recognises the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the creative industries, including digital creative arts. It is important that while we harness the benefits of AI, we also manage the risks. This includes risks to the creative and cultural sectors and to copyright-holders. As set out in the Government’s AI White Paper consultation response, critical to this work will be close engagement with international counterparts.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many civil servants in her Department have a criminal conviction.

Julia Lopez: No civil servants at DCMS hold a criminal conviction.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: WhatsApp

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Julia Lopez: All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). DCMS uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Domestic Visits

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in (a) her Department and (b) its predecessor Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.

Julia Lopez: The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (vias, accommodation, meals).But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the document entitled Draft terms of reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what updates her Department has provided on relevant developments in its area of work to that group since 2019.

Julia Lopez: Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 1 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

Rugby

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (a) promote the playing of rugby and (b) support the (i) maintenance and (ii) development of (A) rugby clubs and (B) their infrastructure in (1) England and (2) Romford constituency.

Stuart Andrew: Supporting grassroots sport is a key government priority and we recognise the role of high quality accessible facilities in encouraging people to take part in sport and ensuring participation rates continue to grow. Our new strategy ‘Get Active’ sets out our ambition to build a more active nation, with a target to get 3.5 million more people classed as ‘active’ by 2030 including 1 million more children.We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England - which receives £323 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Sport England has invested £622,606 in the Romford constituency since 2020.Since 2021, Sport England has provided over £22.6 million of support to programmes which facilitate participation in grassroots rugby league. This includes funding to the Rugby Football League.In partnership with the National Lottery, Sport England has also supported the ‘CreatedBy’ capital grants programme. This delivered £26.4 million in legacy funding to celebrate England’s hosting of the 2022 Rugby League World Cup, providing investment in facilities and equipment to encourage participation.Since 2020, Sport England has provided over £14 million of support to programmes which facilitate participation in grassroots rugby union. Additionally, in 2020/21 the Government provided £21,565,000 to rugby union clubs through the COVID-19 Sport Winter Survival Package. In 2022/23 we provided over £12.5 million of system partner funding to the Rugby Football Union to grow and develop the sport between the years 2022 and 2027.The Government also funds some projects which benefit rugby through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. Between 2021 and 2025, the UK Government is investing over £325 million to build or upgrade multi-sport grassroots facilities across the UK to ensure every community has the pitches and facilities it needs. Romford has received £10,491 for three projects through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.

Playing Fields: Standards

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve the quality of sports fields in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to delivering world class sports facilities across the country, so that everyone can take part in sport and physical activity. As part of this commitment, the Government is delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK.Over £363 million has been invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme since 2019 to provide new and improved football and multi-sport grassroots facilities across the whole of the UK. Funding is delivered via The Football Foundation’s partnership with the English FA and Premier League.So far, Romford has received investment of £10,491 for three projects through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, as well as £2,500 through the Park Tennis Court Renovation Programme and £174,828 through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. All projects can be viewed here on gov.uk.

Sportsgrounds: Darlington

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of sports pitch provision in Darlington; and whether her Department plans to provide further funding for high-quality sports pitches for communities.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to delivering world class sports facilities across the country, so that everyone can take part in sport and physical activity. As part of this commitment, the Government is delivering an historic level of direct investment to build or upgrade thousands of grassroots facilities across the UK.Over £363 million has been invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme since 2019 to provide new and improved football and multi-sport grassroots facilities across the whole of the UK. Funding is delivered via The Football Foundation’s partnership with the English FA and Premier League.So far, Darlington has received investment of £1,036,819 across four Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities projects, including a new artificial grass pitch and changing pavilion at Eastbourne Sports Complex. All projects can be viewed here on gov.uk.

Gambling: Advertising

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to regulate gambling advertising.

Stuart Andrew: In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while recognising that advertising is an entirely legitimate commercial practice for responsible gambling firms.Last year, HM Government published a White Paper on gambling which outlined a comprehensive package of reforms to make gambling safer, including on gambling advertising. We concluded that further action on advertising was needed, which is why we and the Gambling Commission are introducing measures to tackle the most aggressive and harmful advertising practices by preventing bonuses being constructed and targeted in harmful ways, giving customers more control over the marketing they receive, and introducing messaging about the risks associated with gambling.This supplements the already robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible, and that it cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. This includes specific licence conditions for operators, including the requirement to abide by the UK Advertising Codes, which further regulate how gambling operators advertise. The UK Advertising Codes were strengthened in 2022, with new protections for children and vulnerable adults.

Cricket: Women

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase participation of (a) girls and (b) womenincricket.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is committed to supporting women's sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation.We are pleased to see the significant progress in the number of women and girls taking up cricket in recent years, and wider developments in the women’s game, as noted by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s five year plan, Inspiring Generations, launched in 2020 aims to inspire a new generation to believe that ‘cricket is a game for me’. The plan focuses on six priority areas including making cricket gender-neutral with women and girls being properly represented across the whole game.Initiatives like Chance to Shine, which receives funding from Sport England, play an important role in encouraging girls to play cricket. The project gives all children the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket.The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report notes that while positive progress has been made in the women’s game, there are still areas of concern where more action is needed.The ECB has provided a full response to the ICEC report and has committed to taking on board the majority of the recommendations to create lasting change across the sport. We welcome the ECB’s commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues and secure a sustainable future for the sport, and look forward to receiving updates on this.

Cricket: Discrimination

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the England and Wales Cricket Board on (a) racism and (b) discriminationincricket.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is clear that racism has no place in cricket, sport, or society at large. I regularly meet with the England and Wales Cricket Board to discuss a range of issues, including equality, diversity and inclusion.It is ultimately for all individual sports’ national governing bodies, to decide on the specific aims, appropriate initiatives and funding to tackle discrimination in their organisations.The ECB has provided a full response to the 2023 Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report, and has publicly committed to taking on board the majority of the recommendations to create lasting change across the sport. We welcome the ECB’s commitment to tackle these serious issues and secure a sustainable future for the sport. Government will be monitoring closely to ensure that progress is made.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Islamophobia

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 10238 on Islamophobia, whether he has taken steps to develop a definition of anti-Muslim hatred.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 10238 on 23 January 2024.

Domestic Abuse: Advisory Services

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of domestic abuse services in the UK in each year since 2018.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of changes in the level of funding for domestic abuse services in each year since 2018.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of trends in the level of funding given to domestic abuse services in Warwick and Leamington constituency since 2018.

Felicity Buchan: Support for domestic abuse services is a devolved matter, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) holds data relating to England.On 1st May 2023, according to Women’s Aid, throughout England, there were 236 domestic abuse service providers delivering a range of local services. Some providers deliver multiple services. The table below shows total number of domestic providers since 2018:Total number of domestic abuse service providers in England2018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24219220222229226236Since 2021 £507 million has been allocated to support local authorities across England to delivery their statutory duty under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to ensure that all victims, including children, have access to support within safe accommodation when they need it.DLUHC has allocated over £4.2 million of funding to Warwickshire County Council to support domestic abuse victims in safe accommodation since 2021.Further funding has been provided by the Ministry of Justice to Police and Crime Commissioners with £38 million of funding ring-fenced for Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors across England.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many civil servants in his Department have a criminal conviction.

Simon Hoare: Criminal record checks are made prior to appointment and we require individuals to inform the department of criminal convictions after appointment as set out in the staff handbook. The information is not collected centrally.

Social Rented Housing: Darlington

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) existing supply and (b) future provision of social housing in Darlington constituency.

Jacob Young: Data on social housing supply is not available at constituency level. New delivery of affordable housing by local authority, including Darlington, is available in Live Table 1008C available here Live tables on affordable housing supply.Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.Between 2010 and 2023 over 1,500 affordable homes have been delivered in in the Darlington local authority.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Domestic Visits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

Simon Hoare: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 17349 on 11 March 2024.

General Elections: Logistics

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has held recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on logistical preparations for a possible general election in May 2024.

Simon Hoare: The Government regularly holds meetings with a range of relevant elections community stakeholders on preparations for upcoming elections – as we do ahead of all elections.

Anti-social Behaviour

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with local authorities to help communities to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Jacob Young: In March 2023, the Government launched the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Action Plan to crack down on ASB, restoring people’s confidence that these crimes will be quickly and visibly punished. The Action Plan applies to all local authorities across England and Wales, including York.

Anti-social Behaviour

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken with local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour in (a) Ashford constituency and (b) England.

Jacob Young: In March 2023, the Government launched the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Action Plan to crack down on ASB, restoring people’s confidence that these crimes will be quickly and visibly punished. The Action Plan applies to all local authorities across England and Wales, including Ashford.

Business: Hendon

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support high street businesses in Hendon constituency.

Jacob Young: DLUHC has invested in the mixed-use regeneration of Brent Cross Town between Hendon and Cricklewood with £419 million of grant for the new Brent Cross West station which opened to passengers on 10 December 2023 – the first major new mainline train station in London in over a decade – and £148 million from the Home Building fund to deliver 6,700 new homes. These investments will support the transformation of Brent Cross to deliver over 50 new locations for retail, food and drink and provide high quality workspaces for over 25,000 people, including flexible, small business spaces adjacent to the new high street.Local business support is available through the London Business Hub, which delivers London’s growth hub services.

Antisemitism

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to tackle anti-Semitism.

Lee Rowley: Anti-Semitism is abhorrent and has no place in our society. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their religion or belief and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.That is why on 28 February 2024, the Prime Minister announced that the Community Security Trust will receive further funding of £54 million for 2025-2028, as part of the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant. This is in addition to the commitment made as part of the Autumn Statement for £18 million in 2024/25.

General Elections: Finance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what funds have been spent on preparing for a (a) May 2024 and (b) June 2024 general election.

Simon Hoare: It is a matter for statutorily independent Returning Officers to undertake the necessary preparations for the conduct of UK parliamentary elections. The Consolidated Fund will provide the necessary funding once the date of the election is known, and the relevant Charges Order has been made.

Voter Authority Certificates

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish a breakdown of how many people have been granted Voter Authority Certificates in each month in the last two years.

Simon Hoare: Data on the number of Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) applications received is publicly available on the performance dashboard: https://voter-authority-certificate.service.gov.uk/performance.

Levelling Up Fund: Northern Ireland

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of total Levelling Up Fund funding has been allocated to Northern Ireland as of 4 March 2024.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of total Shared Prosperity Fund funding has been allocated to projects in Northern Ireland as of 4 March 2024.

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of total UK Community Renewal Fund funding was allocated to Northern Ireland.

Jacob Young: We are investing £15 billion in a suite of complementary Levelling Up projects across the UK to help grow the economy, create jobs, improve transport, provide skills training and support local businesses.The Levelling Up Fund has invested a total of £4.8 billion into infrastructure that improves everyday life for local residents across the UK. Projects in Northern Ireland received £120 million across rounds one and two of the Levelling Up Fund. In Round three a further £30 million was set aside for Northern Ireland. This means that at least 3% of total Levelling Up Fund allocations have gone to Northern Ireland, in line with our commitments.The Community Renewal Fund provided £186 million of funding, supporting outputs for 23,000 organisations. Northern Ireland benefitted from just over £12 million of investment, meaning it enjoyed a proportion of 6.45% of the total funding allocated.The UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Northern Ireland has a total budget of £126 million which represents 4.8% of the total UKSPF budget of £2.6 billion. As of 4 March 2024, £76 million of UKSPF funding has been allocated to 30 projects in Northern Ireland with further investments to follow. We continue to be committed to levelling up all parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Community Ownership Fund

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he expects the next Community Ownership Fund bidding round will open.

Jacob Young: We will announce the timings of the next bidding window in the coming weeks.

Private Rented Housing: Disability

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on how many Disabled people were evicted thorough section 21 no-fault evictions in the private rented sector in 2023.

Jacob Young: I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 14713 on 22 February 2024.

Business: Ashford

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support high street businesses in Ashford constituency.

Jacob Young: The Government is fully committed to supporting our high-street businesses and communities. The department has announced over £15 million in targeted funding in Ashford constituency since 2021, including:£14.7 million from the Levelling Up Fund, for the Newtown Works development, which will transform the former railway works into a mixed-use site incorporating a creative hub, a hotel, restaurant, retail, commercial and residential space;£1 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support Ashford Borough Council’s Town Centre Reset strategy, which awards grants to local businesses and runs until April 2024; and£0.5 million from the UK Community Ownership Fund to enable The Honest Miller Community Group and The George Community to restore and reopen two long-closed village pubs.

Women and Equalities

Ethnic Groups: Equality

Justin Madders: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what her planned timetable is for implementing the policies set out in the paper entitled Inclusive Britain: Government response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, published on 17 March 2022, CP 625.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress has been made on implementing the actions set out in the policy paper entitled Inclusive Britain: government response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, published on 17 March 2022.

Maria Caulfield: Inclusive Britain sets out a ground-breaking action plan to tackle entrenched ethnic disparities, promote unity and build a fairer Britain for all. In April 2023, we published a report to Parliament on the substantial progress we have made in delivering the plan.We will publish a further update to Parliament in due course, including how many actions have been completed and a timeframe for delivering the remaining actions.

Women and Equalities: Defamation

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in her Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.

Maria Caulfield: Paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code states: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority”, therefore we are unable to provide the details requested.

Wales Office

Food: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential application of new geographical indications for Welsh food and drink products in Japan.

David T C Davies: As Secretary of State for Wales, I am proud to promote protected Welsh products, and was delighted to celebrate Single Malt Welsh Whisky on a recent visit to India.I was also pleased to see that on 29 February 2024, 37 Geographical Indications received protected status in Japan, including famed products such as Welsh Lamb, Anglesey Sea Salt, Conwy Mussels, Pembrokeshire Early Potatoes, Traditional Welsh Caerphilly, Welsh Beef, Welsh Laverbread and Welsh Wine joining the seven GIs already protected in our agreement.The UK Government is continuing work to secure protection for further products. The GI additions have been split into two tranches running in parallel to aid processing time, and officials will continue work to finalise the completion of UK and Japanese processes for the second and final tranche.

Wales Office: Fraud and Maladministration

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

David T C Davies: The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits. The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022). This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023. There has been no reported or detected fraud and error in the Department during the last three financial years.

Wales Office: Defamation

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.

David T C Davies: As per paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, it is not possible to disclose whether Law Officers have or have not provided advice on such matters. Paragraph 2.13 states: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority”.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Marine Protected Areas

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of the marine protected area network is in (a) effective management and (b) favorable condition.

Rebecca Pow: We have established a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covering 40% of English waters and last year introduced a new statutory MPA target. All MPAs are protected through the planning and licensing process. We are also working with regulators to introduce any necessary additional management measures. 60% of the 181 English MPAs are already protected from damaging fishing activity through byelaws, including the new byelaw announced in February to ban bottom trawling in a further 13 MPAs. Our scientific advisors (Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee) are developing an MPA monitoring strategy to assess progress towards meeting the statutory MPA target, including whether the necessary management measures are in place. The current estimate is that 44% of our protected features are in favourable condition.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Written Questions

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will respond to Question 13730 on Environmental Land Management Schemes tabled by the hon. Member for Croydon North on 8 February 2024.

Mark Spencer: A response to Question 13730 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.

Agriculture: Sustainable Development

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support farmers pursue nature-friendly farming.

Mark Spencer: The Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan says we are aiming for between 65 to 80% of landowners and farmers to adopt nature friendly farming on at least 10-15% of their land by 2030.This will be delivered through a range of measures. These include habitat restoration and creation; activities to reduce the impact of invasive non-native species on sites or to address pressures on sensitive areas; improvements in water storage and management; and changes to limit emissions while maintaining agricultural profitability and increasing productivity.Farmers will be supported to deliver these measures through our Environmental Land Management schemes (Countryside Stewardship, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and Landscape Recovery), the Farming Investment Funds and Farming Innovation Programme, woodland creation and tree health grants, and grants to assist with the cost of improved slurry infrastructure and equipment.We will continue to work with farmers and land managers to ensure we achieve these targets in the most effective way, and in a way that works best for farmers and farm businesses and supports our commitment to maintain domestic food production.These changes are effective, we are seeing over 100 farmers a day on average applying for the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13732 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure, for what reason funding has been reprofiled; and if he will list all programmes impacted by these budget changes.

Mark Spencer: Details of the reasons that funding has been reprofiled; and a list of all programmes impacted by these budget changes can be found here (Supplementary Estimates, Budget Regime Changes, Budget Surrenders, page 387):https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65df0b24cf7eb1e5f4f57f67/E03059123_CG_Supp_Estimates_2023-24_Web_Accessible.pdf.

Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for consultation on activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for consultation on activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

Mark Spencer: The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad. Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed. This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.

Tree Planting: Birmingham

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with Birmingham City Council on levels of tree planting in Birmingham.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has had no recent discussions with Birmingham City Council on tree planting rates in Birmingham. Local authorities can take advantage of grant schemes to help increase levels of tree planting in their areas, including:The Urban Tree Challenge Fund, which provides 80% funding of standard costs for planting large trees and their establishment costs for three years following planting in urban and peri-urban areas.The Local Authority Treescapes Fund, which supports the planting and maintenance of trees in urban areas, including beside roads and footpaths.The England Woodland Creation Offer administered by the Forestry Commission.

Water: Standards

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to designate bathing waters in Warwick and Leamington constituency by 2025.

Robbie Moore: There are currently no sites in the Warwick and Leamington constituency under consideration to be designated as bathing waters. Anyone can apply to designate a site as a bathing water by following the application guidance available at: Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Food Supply

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the Food Security Index will be measured; and whether it will include nature-friendly farming practices.

Mark Spencer: The first draft of the new annual Food Security Index will be published at the Farm to Fork Summit this spring. We are in the process of developing the content of the index. We expect it will include a selection of indicators giving an assessment of food security across the five themes identified in the UK Food Security Report, including domestic food supply. Productive, resilient and environmentally sustainable domestic food production is a key element of our food security.

Deposit Return Schemes

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations to publish a report on the steps they are taking to ensure the interoperability of deposit return schemes across the UK.

Robbie Moore: Defra is working closely with devolved administrations on the next steps to achieve interoperable schemes that work across the UK. We are aiming to provide further policy detail shortly.

Food: Waste

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to provide local authorities with details of (a) transitional and (b) operational funding provided by his Department for new food waste requirements.

Robbie Moore: We have brought forward up to £295 million in capital funding to roll out weekly food waste collections across England. This will cover the cost of additional bins and vehicles. Initial grants have now been issued to local authorities for their transitional capital funding allocation for FY 2023/24. We are still calculating resource funding allocations and are therefore unable to share details of funding at this time. We will be in contact with local authorities regarding this funding when we are able to do so.

Cats: Smuggling

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) guidance and (b) support his Department provides to (i) veterinarians and (ii) other animal welfare professionals on cats and kittens illegally smuggled into the UK.

Mark Spencer: The Government takes the illegal importation of pets seriously. It is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to animals. Defra regularly engages with stakeholders, including veterinary and animal welfare professionals, on a range of animal welfare issues, including the illegal smuggling of pets into the UK.

Responsible Dog Ownership Working Group

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's timetable is for publishing the report of the Responsible Dog Ownership working group.

Mark Spencer: We expect the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce to publish its findings soon.

Cats: Smuggling

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the illegal smuggling of cats and kittens into the UK.

Mark Spencer: The Government takes the illegal importation of pets seriously. It is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to animals. We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. The Animal and Plant Health Agency works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the Pet Travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals. We are aware that Selaine Saxby MP has introduced a Private Members’ Bill on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of dogs, cats and ferrets. In accordance with Parliamentary convention, the Government will set out its formal position on this Bill when it receives its Second Reading.

Import Controls: Disease Control

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the introduction of the Border Target Operating Model, what estimate his Department has made of the cost per consignment of acquiring health certificates for sanitary and phyto-sanitary controls.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse for the direct administration of each consignment checked through the Border Target Operating Model.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will estimate the average cost to businesses of each consignment checked through the Border Target Operating Model.

Mark Spencer: We will publish the Economic Impact Assessment of the legislative measures required to enable the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) in due course and no later than the Statutory Instruments (Sis) are laid. This will contain summary data tables and they will include the requested information.Under the new BTOM, consignments can undergo various types of checks depending on the type of product and the level of risk presented. Low risk consignments will not undergo documentary, ID or physical checks. All medium risk products of animal origin (POAO) will undergo documentary checks with an estimated cost to business of £10-£25 per check. 1% of medium risk consignments of POAO will undergo physical and ID checks, with an estimated cost to business of £250-£750 per check. The check rates on high risk consignments of POAO are unchanged. For plant and plant products, the cost of documentary checks is expected to be around £5 per check for high and medium risk goods and the cost of risk-based inspections is expected to be £20-£80 per check. Low risk plant and plant products are not charged for checks. Plans to amend fees for documentary checks will occur under future SIs for the BTOM.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Domestic Visits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many domestic overnight visits Ministers within his Department have taken in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost to the public purse was of these visits.

Mark Spencer: The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (vias, accommodation, meals). But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Incinerators

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department holds data on the number of Industrial Emissions Directive environmental permits that have been issued by the Environment Agency in each year since 2015.

Robbie Moore: Environmental permits are issued under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2016, which implement the Industrial Emissions Directive. Of the activities listed in the Industrial Emissions Directive, the Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for regulating larger (known as A1) sites under the 2016 Regulations in England, whereas local authorities regulate smaller sized (known as A2) sites.   The number of permits issued by the EA under the 2016 Regulations relating to activities in the Industrial Emissions Directive is set out below. Data for the whole year 2023 is incomplete. YearTotal issued20152362016303201728420182652019161202016720211782022118202370The number of permits issued is governed by regulatory, economic and social drivers. The capacity of the regulator and application quality and application size and complexity are all relevant factors.Some drivers that may have affected the number of new applications: Greater numbers in 2015, 2016 etc driven by new activities being prescribed under the Industrial Emissions Directive and subject to environmental permitting.There is a general trend of fewer applications being made over recent years.Fewer applications were received and processed during 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic and capacity issues.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Whatsapp

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Mark Spencer: All departments in central government, including arm’s lengths bodies, apply the published guidance: Non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). Defra uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.

Hedgehogs: Conservation

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on the protection of hedgehogs since 2019.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has not provided funding specifically for hedgehog protection. However, the Government is committed to taking further action to conserve and recover threatened native species such as the hedgehog. In England, we have set four legally binding targets: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; then to reverse declines by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction by 2042; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan. The Environment Act 2021 introduced several policies, such as Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities, which will work together to support the creation and restoration of habitat that will benefit our native species. In addition, our environmental land management schemes will provide farmers, foresters and other land managers with financial support for a wide range of measures that will deliver positive benefits for species to include the hedgehog. Hedgerows are an important habitat for hedgehogs. As well as the Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes, which are funding the creation and restoration of hedgerows, the Environmental Improvement Plan has a commitment to support farmers to create or restore at least 30,000 miles of hedgerows by 2037, increasing to 45,000 miles by 2050. In addition, Natural England is funding a three-year monitoring pilot started in 2023 through its Species Recovery Programme. This will invest over £300k in determining the population of this vulnerable and much-loved species, which is a vital part of understanding how we save it.

Food Supply: Carbon Emissions

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects the Food Data Transparency Partnership Eco Working Group to produce its report detailing proposals to measure and communicate carbon emissions in the food system.

Mark Spencer: The Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) was established in early 2023, as a means to work jointly across Defra, the Food Standards Agency, the Department of Health and Social Care, industry, academia and civil society. The FDTP aims to drive positive change in the food system through better and more transparent food data. On environmental sustainability, the FDTP has focused on the approach needed to deliver consistent, accurate and accessible data on quantifying and communicating the environmental impact of food across the agri-food system. This will support our agri-food industry to remain internationally competitive in the context of global growing demand for data on environmental impacts associated with products or services sold. The FDTP Eco Working Group continues to develop the detail of proposals to measure and communicate greenhouse gas emissions in the food system. The group has identified several interim priorities for the short and medium term. These will be communicated to industry as part of the FDTP's continued programme of engagement.

Sustainable Farming Incentive: Mid Bedfordshire

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms in Mid Bedfordshire have accepted an offer of agreement for the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Mark Spencer: The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 07 March the RPA has received 44 applications of which 33 agreements have been offered and 26 accepted for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Publishing

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three financial years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.

Mark Spencer: The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Reports and guidance that the department has published can be found on gov.uk.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to comply with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Mark Spencer: Defra designs work and workplaces to adapt to the needs of the individual so far as is reasonably practicable. Defra’s Health and Safety Policy, and Management System, focuses on the principles of prevention of all work-related harm. Work tasks and activities of the individual are risk assessed by the business using a framework of policies and good practice guidance (based on legislation and Health and Safety Executive legal guidance) to develop safe systems of work. Line managers are responsible for ensuring that work roles and tasks are suited to the individual and that employees are competent to carry out tasks and roles safely and without risk to physical or psychological health. The majority of Defra workplaces provide a range of flexible workspaces, furniture and equipment to suit the work activity of the team or individual. Bespoke or specialist items are provided if an employee requires personal adaptations for health and safety purposes or workplace adjustments in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Domestic Visits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

Mark Spencer: The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (vias, accommodation, meals). But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Agriculture: Energy and Inflation

Steven Bonnar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to provide additional support for (a) energy and (b) inflationary costs for the agriculture sector.

Mark Spencer: The Energy Bills Discount Scheme provides all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a baseline discount on high energy bills for 12 months from April 2023 until 31 March 2024. A higher level of support is provided to some Energy and Trade Intensive Industries that are particularly exposed to energy cost increases due to their energy and trade intensity and are therefore less able to pass these costs through to their customers due to international competition. Tackling inflation is one of this Government’s priorities. While inflation has more than halved, it remains a challenge, which is why we continue to monitor all key agricultural commodities and work with the food industry to address the challenges they face. The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments. The Government is supporting farmers through a range of measures. In recognition of the challenges faced with inflation and rising input costs, we are updating prices in our environmental land management schemes with an average 10% uplift. We are making the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) simpler, with more choice about what farmers can do and more actions made available, to better reflect the full spectrum of farming interests. What is more, 50 new actions are being added to our environmental land management schemes, many of which support food production, making it easier for the Government’s support to fit into farmers’ business plans. Specific actions in the SFI, such as different cropping systems, better plant management methods and other Nutrient Management and Integrated Pest Management actions, will support farmers in improving soil health, reducing their reliance on costly inputs. We are also keen to support farmers through technology to help them lower their costs. More grants will be launched this year to help farmers grow more, sell more and make their businesses more sustainable and resilient for the future. We will also look at ways to make grants and schemes even easier to access, including the potential to streamline the application process for schemes. Farmers can now apply for SFI and the Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier through one single application, meaning they will have the same actions and get the same support with less paperwork. Full expensing, which was made permanent at Autumn Statement 2023, allows companies to claim 100% capital allowances on qualifying plant and machinery investments (for example, high tech agricultural equipment) in the year the expenditure is incurred. The Government announced at Spring Budget 2024 that we will seek to extend full expensing to assets for leasing when fiscal conditions allow and will publish draft legislation shortly. We are continuing to keep this all under review to make sure it works for and rewards all farms in all parts of the country.

Water: Contamination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is providing public health warnings about the importance of avoiding water contaminated with sewage.

Robbie Moore: The Environment Agency takes over 7,000 samples each year at England’s 424 designated bathing waters, which are used to determine the annual bathing water classifications. These classifications are displayed on signage at bathing waters and online on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website, to allow bathers to make informed decisions before entering the water. If there is a pollution incident, a notification is posted on the Swimfo website and on signage at the bathing water. Throughout the bathing season, the Environment Agency makes daily pollution risk forecasts for a number of bathing waters, where water quality may be temporarily reduced due to factors, such as heavy rainfall, wind or the tide. When a temporary reduction in water quality is forecast, the Environment Agency issues a pollution risk warning and advice against bathing, enabling bathers to avoid times or locations where the risk of pollution is higher than normal and health risks from bathing may be higher than the annual classification suggests. To reduce risk to health from bathing waters, the UK Health Security Agency and the Environment Agency offer advice in their ‘Swim Healthy’ guidance, which is available to read before making any decision on swimming.

Furs: Imports

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 4004 on Furs: Imports, what criteria he is using to determine when to publish a summary of responses to his Department’s 2021 Fur Market consultation.

Mark Spencer: At this stage we do not have a confirmed date for publication of a summary of responses to the call for evidence on the fur market in Great Britain.

Factory Farming: Inland Waterways and Rivers

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the impact of factory farming on (a) rivers and (b) other waterways.

Robbie Moore: The Government is committed to minimising pollution from all types of farming, including production systems where animals are housed indoors for some or all of the year and which accumulate manures and slurries.Our legal standards, including the Nitrates and Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil regulations, all require manure produced in livestock housing (including slurry) to be stored responsibly and for a long enough time to ensure it is spread in a way that minimises water pollution. The Farming Rules for Water and Nitrates regulations require these manures to be spread according to appropriate volumes, locations and timescales to minimise pollution.In addition, our farming schemes provide revenue and capital funding to help farmers build the infrastructure necessary to manage manures to reduce pollution. For example a dairy farmer is able to utilise Sustainable Farming Incentive Funding for measures to reduce soil erosion and runoff from their fields, and Slurry Infrastructure Grant funding to expand and cover their slurry store according to best practice.

Water Companies: Debts

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the financial implications for her policies of trends in the level of debt acquired by water companies.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the financial implications for her policies of trends in the level of debt acquired by water companies.

Robbie Moore: Water companies are allowed to raise debt to fund the delivery of their services. Ofwat, as the independent economic regulator, assesses and monitors the financial resilience of each company, including levels of debt, on an individual and ongoing basis and challenges companies where they identify this is needed. Over recent years, as investment requirements have risen, Ofwat has taken further steps to strengthen the financial resilience of companies. This includes increasing its financial monitoring and improving levels of reporting transparency. As part of this work, Ofwat produces an annual ‘Monitoring Financial Resilience Report’ to provide a publicly available assessment of the financial resilience of each water company.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Written Questions

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Questions (a) 11320 on Import Controls: Disease Control tabled by the hon. Member for Walthamstow on 24 January for answer of 29 January 2024, and (b) 12300 on Export Health Certificates tabled by the hon. Member for Walthamstow on 31 January for Answer of 5 February 2024; and for what reason his Department was unable to answer the Questions within the usual time period.

Mark Spencer: The answer to Question 11320 was published on 9 February 2024. An answer to Question 12300 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible. I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay. On this occasion, it was not possible to answer these questions within the usual time frame.

Water: Contamination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on levels of ill health caused by contact with sewage contaminated water.

Robbie Moore: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential. Defra and Department of Health and Social Care officials have had and continue to have ongoing conversations about the public health impacts of contact with sewage contaminated water and how to manage the risks going forward.

Landfill: Regulation

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulation of landfill sites in England.

Robbie Moore: The vast majority of landfill sites do not cause problems and the regulatory framework serves them and their local communities well. Where poor performance does occur the Environment Agency has a range of powers to bring sites back into compliance and, where necessary, to take enforcement action against operators.

Sewers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the sewage drainage systems in (a) the UK and (b) York to address (i) demand and (ii) demand when it rains.

Robbie Moore: The current sewerage system in England, including York, was designed by the Victorians and operates using a combined sewer system, meaning that rainwater from drains and sewage use the same pipes underground. At times of high rainfall the pipes reach capacity, and to stop sewage escaping into homes and streets, the system was designed to discharge to rivers or the sea via storm overflows. A growing population, an increase in impermeable surfaces and effects of climate change have increased pressure on the system, causing these sewage discharges to happen more frequently. In September 2023 we published the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP). This plan will drive the largest infrastructure programme in water company history with over £60 billion investment over the next 25 years specifically to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows. Furthermore, all water companies including Yorkshire Water have published drainage and wastewater management plans. These plans set out how water companies intend to maintain, improve and extend robust and resilient drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, and have enabled water companies to publicly share how they plan to meet Defra’s SODRP.

Deposit Return Schemes

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with industry representatives on the implementation of a deposit return scheme since November 2023.

Robbie Moore: Defra is pushing ahead with its programme of reforms to reduce waste and improve our use of resources and remain committed to our goal of eliminating avoidable waste by 2050. It’s essential that we work closely with industry to make sure our reforms will be a success, and we will continue to engage with businesses closely as we proceed with introducing the deposit return scheme. Defra engage stakeholders across industry (including large and small drinks producers, retailers, wholesalers, and the hospitality sector). We are listening to, and will continue to work with, industry to assess the feasibility of the implementation date as we progress with this project including as part of the Deposit Management Organisation application process.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Written Questions

Sir Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 12881 on Food: Imports tabled by the Rt hon. Member for New Forest East; and if he will include in that Answer (a) the reasons for which sealed refrigerated food vehicles entering the UK via the Port of Dover and intended for embarkation on cruise ships from the Port of Southampton are required to undergo biosecurity checks at an inland border security facility in Sevington, Kent and (b) whether a biosecurity risk would manifest itself between the port of arrival and the border security facility.

Mark Spencer: The Answer to Question 12881 was published on 7 March 2024 and I trust it addresses the concerns raised by the Rt Hon Member. I apologise for the delay in responding.

Water Charges: Government Assistance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to provide additional support to help vulnerable customers with water and sewerage bills from April 2024.

Robbie Moore: The Government is mindful that consumers are concerned about their bills. For this reason, Defra expects all water companies to help consumers who struggle to pay their bills through measures such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. We expect all companies to ensure households are aware of the support schemes available to them. We continue to work with industry and consumer groups to explore options to improve present social tariff arrangements and broader customer support, focusing on improving consistency and fairness.

Environmental Land Management Schemes

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to review the effectiveness of the Environmental Land Management scheme.

Mark Spencer: The Impact and Value for Money Evaluation of ELM is a vital component of our reporting commitment under the Agriculture Act (2020) and it builds on our experience of delivering, monitoring and evaluating agri-environment schemes over the last few decades, working closely with farmers, land managers and wider industry stakeholders and research specialists. We are in the process of both developing and delivering on our monitoring and evaluation plans for each of the Environmental Land Management schemes, recognising the phased rollout of the schemes. More specifically, in the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, land managers are supported through monitoring and site visits to track how they are delivering their outcomes, with final reporting on the impact and value for money of the SFI pilot being delivered in 2025. Monitoring and evaluation of the SFI23 offer is underway, working closely with land managers to understand their experiences in the scheme and their ability to deliver effectively, and this year we will begin utilising a mixed methods research approach using field surveys, modelling and expert assessments of the effectiveness of the sustainable management achieved under the scheme to assess the impact of this offer. Countryside Stewardship has a long history of impact monitoring and evaluation, with data collected spanning nearly 25 years for some holdings within the scheme. This work continues and will adapt and combine with the SFI monitoring and evaluation programme as the Combined Offer is realised. Within Landscape Recovery, each project is responsible for developing and delivering on their monitoring, evaluation, and learning strategy and there is also scheme-level monitoring and evaluation which is helping us learn about scheme effectiveness to enable ongoing improvements. Cross-cutting impact monitoring and evaluation will utilise various methods to establish the aggregate impacts of the schemes over the long-term and help determine the value for money of ELM as a whole.

Water Charges: Wigan

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the affordability of water bills in Wigan constituency.

Robbie Moore: The Government is committed to a water sector that delivers for customers, the environment and wider society. We recognise that some households may struggle to pay their water bill in full. Ofwat assesses affordability for each water company through a five-yearly Price Review process, in which water companies must set out how they will address affordability for households that are struggling to pay their bills in their business plans. The next period for this process is 2025-30, with the determinations of Price Review 2024 currently underway. The appointed water provider in Wigan, United Utilities, provides help for customers who struggle to pay their bills through measures such as WaterSure, Social Tariffs, payment breaks and debt management support. We expect all companies to ensure households are aware of the support schemes available to them.

Fly-tipping: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in tackling fly-tipping.

Robbie Moore: The PM’s Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan sets out how we will help councils across the country take tougher action against those who fly-tip. Last year we raised the upper limit on the fixed penalty notices councils can issue for fly-tipping to £1,000 and from 1 April 2024 income from these penalties will be ringfenced for enforcement and clean-up specifically. With the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, we are also developing a toolkit to help councils and others tackle fly-tipping. This includes guides on raising awareness of the household and business waste duty of care, presenting robust cases to court and setting up effective local partnerships. The toolkit, and other resources, are available at https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group. We have also published a selection of case studies from projects which have received funding through our fly-tipping intervention grant scheme so that others can learn about those interventions which were most successful. These can be found at https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/fly-tipping-intervention-grant-scheme.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Fraud and Maladministration

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Steve Baker: The Northern Ireland Office reported no cases of fraud or amounts lost due to fraud or error in any of the last three financial years. This is disclosed as part of the Annual Report and Accounts available on GOV.UK.The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022.This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. (The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023).The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.

Integrated Schools: Finance

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2024 to Question 16419 on Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland, on what date the Northern Ireland Executive was informed of the removal of the ring-fence for the £150m Fresh Start Agreement funding.

Mr Steve Baker: HM Treasury officials wrote to their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department of Finance on 1 March 2024 formally confirming the removal of the ring-fence for £150 million of Fresh Start Agreement funding. This formal confirmation followed official level discussions between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Civil Service on UK Government funding streams being made available within the financial package to support the restored Executive.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the (a) Department for Health and Social Care and (b) Department for Transport on providing financial support for young cancer patients (0-25) and their families travelling from Northern Ireland to receive treatment in England.

Mr Steve Baker: This matter is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. Arrangements for financial support for young cancer patients and their families travelling from Northern Ireland to receive treatment in England is a matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Health and local Health and Social Care Trusts.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Renewable Energy: Investment

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to report entitled Financing the Future: Energy, published by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association on 26 February 2024, what steps her Department plans to take to encourage private capital investment in green energy.

Graham Stuart: The UK saw £60bn of investment in 2023, meaning that since 2010 the UK has seen £300bn of public and private investment into low carbon sectors. The Powering Up Britain Plan, backed by substantial government funding, seeks to attract private capital for green energy. We've bolstered investor confidence with announcements on the UK Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) sector and the Hydrogen Strategy. In December 2023, we unveiled Europe's largest simultaneous commercial-scale green hydrogen projects, supporting 125MW in the inaugural Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1). We’ve allocated over £1 billion for the flagship Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme's Allocation Round 6 (AR6) and £1.1 billion to the Green Industries Growth Accelerator, to support the expansion of domestic green manufacturing capacity and strengthen clean energy supply chains.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Domestic Visits

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in (a) her Department and (b) its predecessor Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.

Graham Stuart: The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals). But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Energy: Imports

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Gridwatch.co.uk figures, for what reason the proportion of imported energy was over 25% on 25 February 2024.

Graham Stuart: On 25 February 2024, low wind generation in GB combined with high wind generation in Europe supported a price differential with Europe which led to higher imports. Interconnectors import when prices in GB are higher than on the other side of the interconnector.

WhatsApp

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Graham Stuart: All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business, which was published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023. The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero provides additional advice to the central guidance in its internal non-corporate communications guidance.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many civil servants in her Department have a criminal conviction.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not hold central records of criminal convictions. When joining the department all candidates undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check which checks for unspent criminal convictions. Where a candidate does have unspent criminal convictions, these are shared with the individual vacancy holder for them to consider as this is likely to have impact on individuals’ suitability for the role. The Department engages with the cross-government Going Forward into Employment (GFIE) schemes, including for prison leavers. The number of civil servants in the department on this scheme is less than 10. Given this number is relatively low the exact number is not provided in order to protect the identity of those individuals.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Fraud and  Maladministration

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Alister Jack: The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits. The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022). This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023. There has been no reported or detected fraud and error in the Department during the last three financial years.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Commons: Defamation

Lucy Powell: To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions she has informed the Law Officers that she is the defendant in a libel action in (a) her personal capacity, (b) her official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.

Penny Mordaunt: I refer the hon. member to paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code which states: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.”